CAPT.  iilit  H.  CHIS 


if"'    ■{ 


CM'W    r.KX    II.    CHASTAIXE. 


STORY  OF  THE  36th 


The  Experiences  of 
THE  36th  Division 
IN    THE    World    War 


By 

Capt.  Ben  H.  Chastaine 
142d  Infantry,  U.  S.  A. 


HARLOW   PUBLISHING   COMPANY 

Oklahoum    City 
1920 


FOREWORD 


When  the  old  First  Regiment,  Oklahoma  Na- 
tional Guard,  went  to  the  Mexican  border  in  1916, 
Captain  Ben  H.  Chastaine  was  with  the  outfit  as  a 
second  lieutenant.  He  had  been  a  reporter  for  The 
Daily  Oklahoman  and  so  he  was  asked  to  keep  the 
newspaper  in  touch  with  the  home  boys  on  the  Rio 
Grande.  He  did  it  well.  When  America's  partici- 
pation in  the  World  War  became  a  reality,  the  First 
Regiment,  then  federalized,  was  the  first  Oklahoma 
organization  that  went  into  the  service.  During  the 
first  six  months  of  training  the  regiment  was  at  Fort 
Sill,  Oklahoma,  later  being  consolidated  with  some 
Texas  companies  to  form  the  142nd  Regiment  of  the 
Thirty-sixth  division,  which  trained  at  Camp  Bowie 
Texas.  Chastaine  reported  the  development  of  the 
unit  into  a  vigorous  fighting  force  in  the  clear  narra- 
tive of  a  finished  reporter.  He  received  the  commis- 
sion to  keep  The  Daily  Oklahoman  informed  of  the 
doings  of  the  "old  first  Oklahoma"  overseas  and  he 
did  it  as  well  as  he  did  his  share  of  the  fighting. 
Chastaine's  dispatches  from  France  were  printed  in 
a  series  of  full-page  stories  in  the  Sunday  edition  Oi 
The  Daily  Oklahoman.  Chastaine  was  promoted  on 
the  field  of  battle  for  valor.  He  went  through  until 
armistice  day  and  remained  with  the  142nd  until  it 
started  for  port  to  ship  for  home.     Then  Chastaine 

^5! 695 


ii  Foreword 

was  honored  with  a  post  in  a  regular  army  outfit  that 
remained  overseas  many  months.  He  retained  his 
grade  as  captain  and  is  at  present  an  officer  in  the 
regular  army  stationed  at  Camp  Zachary  Taylor, 
Kentucky. 

The  Daily  Oklahoman  gladly  gives  its  permission 
to  the  rewriting  and  publication  of  Chastaine's  dis- 
patches in  book  form.  The  bound  volumes  of  a  daily 
newspaper  pass  from  the  view  of  the  public,  but  the 
vivid  narrative  of  Oklahoma's  heroic  manhood,  penned 
by  the  accurate  and  colorful  Chastaine,  deserves  a 
place    on    the    bookshelf    of    every    Oklahoman. 

Walter  M.  Harrison, 

Managing  Editdr 
The  I>ailv  Oklahoman 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Chapter  I. 

I'AGK 

Organization  and  Training — Fort  Sill  and   Camp 

Bowie  -- 1 

Chapter   II. 
From  Camp  Bowie  to  Brest  and  Redon 27 

Chapter  III. 
Training  in   France   45 

Chapter   IV. 
To  the  Front _.... 57 

Chapter  V. 
St.  Etienne  89 

Chapter  VI. 
St.   Etienne —  (continued)    ..-.. 137 

Chapter  VII. 
St.   Etienne  and   After 163 

Chapter  VIII. 
The  General  Advance 195 

Chapter  IX. 
Forest  Ferme 217 

Chapter   X. 
To  Bar-le-Duc— The  Armistice  239 

Chapter  XI 
Operation  of  the   111th   Engineers 251 

Chapter   XII. 
Home  Again  259 

The  Honor  Roll  279 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  36th 


CHAPTER  I. 

ORGANIZATION    AND    TRAINING— FORT    SILL 
AND   CAMP  BOWIE. 

Where  the  barren  stretches  of  the  Champagne 
country  spread  out  northward  to  blend  with  the 
fertile  valley  of  the  Aisne ;  where  the  planted  pine 
and  wiry  grass  grow  meagerly  in  the  chalky  earth; 
where  the  shell-scarred  ground  upturns  in  sickly 
defiance  of  any  growing  thing;  there  where  the 
warriors  of  Europe  have  battled  since  the  days  of 
Charlemagne,  the  soldiers  of  Texas  and  Oklahoma 
have  left  an  imprint  in  the  soil  of  France  that  will 
remain  long  after  those  who  grimly  stamped  it 
have  passed  in  their  final  review.  Even  though 
the  name  of  the  Thirty-sixth  Division  may  pass 
from  the  organizations  of  the  United  States  Army, 
it  will  not  be  forgotten  by  the  firesides  of  northern 
France.  Liberated  French  fathers  and  mothers 
will  tell  liberated  sons  and  daughters  of  the 
onslaught  of  "le  Trente-sixieme  Division  Ameri- 
caine,"  in  October  1918,  when  the  soldiers  from  the 
American  plains  swept  the  "boche"  invaders  back- 
ward over  the  river,  returning  to  France  many 
miles  of  territory  and  many  villages  that  had  been 


in 


2  The  Story  of  the  36th 

under  the   rule   of  the  tyrant  for   more   than   four 
miserable  years. 

The  National  Guard  units  of  Texas  and  Okla- 
homa were  among  the  first  to  be  mobilized  by  the 
War  Department  following  the  declaration  that  a 
state  of  war  existed  between  the  United  States  and 
Germany  in  the  spring  of  1917.  The  First  Okla- 
homa Infantry  immediately  was  assembled  at  Fort 
Sill,  Oklahoma,  while  the  Second,  Third  and 
Fourth  Texas  Infantry  regiments  were  sent  to  the 
Mexican  border,  where  they  as  well  as  the  Okla- 
homa Infantry  had  been  on  duty  for  many  months 
previous.  The  actual  declaration  that  war  was  in 
existence  was  published  a  day  or  two  after  some 
of  these  units  had  reached  their  stations.  Prepar- 
ations for  this  mobilization  had  been  in  progress 
about  ten  days  before  the  movement  began.  Some 
of  the  Texas  infantrymen  had  no  more  than  re- 
turned to  their  homes  after  long  service  on  the 
border  than  they  were  called  upon  to  once  more  get 
into  the  uniform  and  take  up  military  duty. 

At  this  time  the  Oklahoma  National  Guard  was 
composed  of  one  infantry  regiment,  one  troop  of 
cavalry,  the  nucleus  for  a  company  of  engineers, 
for  an  ambulance  company  and  a  field  hospital 
company.  All  of  these  organizations  had  seen 
service  on  the  border  during  the  year  previous,  and 
contained  seasoned  troops.  The  Texas  National 
Guard  was  made  up  of  the  infantry  regijnents  al- 
ready named,  the  First  Squadron  of  cavalry.  Bat- 
tery A  of  the  First  Texas  Artillery,  Companies  A 
and  B  of  the  First  Texas  Engineers,  and  Field 
Hospital  Company  No.  1.  Most  of  these  were  made 
up   of  troops   who   had   seen    considerable   service. 


Fo7't  Sill  ayid  Camp  Boivie  3 

The  infantry  regiments  were  organized  at  the  close 
of  the  Spanish-American  war  and  the  other  units 
had  all  served  the  year  previous  along  the  Mexican 
border.  The  Texas  troops  composed  a  brigade 
under  the  command  of  a  brigadier  general  and  his 
staff. 

Upon  arrival  of  the  Oklahoma  Infantry  at  Fort 
Sill,  a  schedule  of  intensive  training  that  kept  the 
men  in  the  field  throughout  the  day  was  taken  up 
and  continued  through  the  entiie  summer.  In- 
structors at  the  School  of  Musketry,  then  located 
at  Fort  Sill,  planned  the  details  of  the  regiment's 
training  and  assisted  in  bringing  the  officers  and 
men  to  a  point  of  efficiency.  At  the  time,  hopes 
were  entertained  by  the  personnel  of  the  command 
that  it  would  form  a  part  of  a  composite  division 
which  would  be  among  the  first  troops  to  be  sent 
overseas.  At  one  time  information  was  received 
at  the  post  that  the  transportation  to  take  the  regi- 
ment east,  where  it  would  be  mobilized  as  a  part 
of  the  "Rainbow"  division,  was  on  its  way  to  Fort 
Sill,  but  this  information  proved  to  be  groundless. 
However,  to  keep  the  command  at  a  high  point  of 
efficiency  and  to  maintain  its  full  strength,  in  order 
to  take  advantage  of  such  an  opportunity,  recruit- 
ing parties  were  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  state  so 
that,  in  spite  of  the  frequent  discharge  of  soldiers 
having  dependents,  the  regiment  retained  its  maxi- 
mum strength. 

In  the  training  of  the  infantry  the  troops  were 
taken  into  the  field  to  construct  trenches,  modeled 
after  those  along  the  western  front  in  Europe,  and 
bayonet  practice  was  a  part  of  the  daily  program. 
The   machine   gun   company  was  mstructed   in   the 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


Fort  Sill  and  Camp  Bowie  5 

use  of  the  various  types  of  machine  gun  then  em- 
ployed in  the  schools  at  the  post  and  used  the 
weapons  on  the  range.  The  rifle  companies  also 
fired  the  prescribed  course  on  the  range.  The 
pistol  range  was  utilized  as  well.  The  hardest  part 
of  this  training  program  was  the  trench  construc- 
tion m  the  sun-baked  soil  of  the  prairie.  It  was 
impossible  to  drive  a  pick  more  than  an  inch  or 
two  into  the  ground.  The  progress  was  slow  and 
painful  but  the  results  accomplished  gave  an  ex- 
cellent conception  of  actual  fire  trenches,  support 
trenches  and  reserve  trenches  with  deep  communi- 
cations. 

While  the  Oklahomans  were  in  training  at 
Fort  Sill,  the  Texans  along  the  border  were  getting 
their  regularly  established  organizations  in  condi- 
tion. There  the  troops  were  used  for  guard  duty 
for  the  most  part  but  some  time  was  found  for 
training  purposes.  Constant  tours  of  guard  duty 
brought  about  a  fine  discipline  within  the  com- 
mands. Actual  conditions  replaced  theory,  but 
there  was  no  construction  of  trenches  along  the 
plans  taken  up  later.  During  this  time  these  regi- 
ments also  found  recruits  to  fill  their  ranks  to  the 
required  strength  and  trained  them  in  the  first 
lessons  of  a  soldier  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Grande. 

While  these  older  guard  organizations  were 
undergoing  this  period  of  training  new  organiza- 
tions were  being  recruited  in  both  states.  In  Texas 
a  great  drive  for  enough  units  to  complete  an  en- 
tire Lone  Star  division  was  carried  out  with  the 
result  that  the  larger  state  was  far  more  success- 
ful than  the  smaller  one.  In  Texas  four  new  in- 
fantry regiments  were  completed.     These  were  the 


6  The  Story  of  the  36th 

First  Texas  Infantry,  recruited  from  the  south- 
western part  of  the  state,  where  the  Second  Texas 
Infantry  originally  was  organized ;  the  Fifth  Texas 
Infantry  from  the  southeastern  part  of  Lhe  state, 
where  had  originated  the  Third  Texas  Infantry; 
the  Sixth  Texas  Infantry  from  the  north  and  north- 
central  portions  of  the  state,  in  the  same  general 
area  where  the  Fourth  Texas  Infantry  had  been  re- 
cruited ;  and  the  Seventh  Texas  Infantry  from  the 
Panhandle  country,  virgin  soil.  The  old  Texas  Ar- 
tillery units  were  increased  to  two  complete  regi- 
ments of  field  artillery  and  the  cavalry  squadron 
was  brought  up  to  regimental  proportions.  In  ad- 
dition a  battalion  of  engineers  was  formed  as  also 
had  been  a  supply  train,  a  field  signal  battalion, 
two  ambulance  companies  and  a  field  hospital  com- 
pany. All  of  these  were  recruited  to  the  strength 
then   required. 

In  Oklahoma  three  companies,  or  a  complete 
battalion,  of  engineers  also  had  been  recruited  and 
held  in  readiness  for  mobilization.  Besides  these 
a  squadron  of  cavalry,  a  field  hospital  company 
and  an  ambulance  company  were  completed.  This 
ambulance  company  as  well  as  the  Texas  supply 
train  later  was  sent  to  Mineola,  Long  Island,  to 
become  a  part  of  the  Forty-second  or  "Rainbow" 
Division,  and  served  throughout  the  war  with  that 
command.  All  of  these  organizations  had  a  nu- 
cleus of  former  service  men  who  aided  materially 
later  in  developing  the  recruits. 

While  this  recruiting  was  going  forward  in 
both  states  the  troops  along  the  border  were  get- 
ting restless  in  the  belief  that  they  were  to  be 
left  in  that  situation   while   other  troops   over  the 


Fort  Sill  and  Camp  Boivie  7 

country  would  be  sent  to  Europe.  The  same  ru- 
mors were  current  among  the  troops  at  Fort  Sill. 
These  were  the  events  that  transpired  from  the 
time  the  state  of  war  was  declared  until  five 
months  later  the  first  contingents  of  troops  began 
to  arrive  at  Camp  Bowie,  near  Fort  Worth,  Texas, 
and  the  first  tasks  of  organizing  the  Thirty-sixth 
Division  were  taken  up. 

Camp  Bowie  was  well  located  on  the  hills 
about  two  and  a  half  miles  to  the  west  of  Fort 
Worth  in  that  suburb  of  the  city  called  Arlington 
Heights  and  on  the  road  from  Fort  Worth  to 
Weatherford,  Texas.  The  site  was  ideal  from 
the  standpoint  of  drainage,  as  it  was  higher  than 
any  part  of  Fort  Worth  and  was  rolling  so  that 
water  ran  off  it  rapidly.  The  wind  and  dust  that 
developed  after  the  troops  had  been  stationed 
there  for  a  short  time  however  created  discom- 
fort in  many  ways,  although  those  of  the  older 
men  who  had  been  serving  in  the  sandy  country 
along  the  border  of  the  arid  region  around  Fort 
Sill,  found  the  new  camp  pleasant  in  the  extreme. 
When  the  camp  was  opened  to  troops  the  last 
week  in  August,  1917,  it  was  not  complete  in  some 
areas,  no  roads  having  been  constructed  and  the 
water  not  being  connected  in  the  more  remote  por- 
tions of  the  reservation.  This  difficulty  was  over- 
come within  a  short  time,  in  respect  to  the  water 
supply,  but  it  was  many  months  before  the  roads 
were  completed. 

Major  General  Edwin  St.  John  Greble.  from  the 
Coast  Artillery  Corps,  was  selected  to  command 
the  newly  mobilized  division,  and  his  staff  for  the 
most  part  was  made  up  of  other  officers  from  the 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


■¥ 


Fort  Sill  and  Camp  Boiiie  9 

regular  army.  His  chief  of  staff  was  Colonel  E. 
,!.  Williams.  Other  officers  were  Lieutenant  Colo- 
nel R.  F.  Metcalfe,  division  surgeon;  Major  J.  S.  Up- 
ham,  assistant  chief  of  staff;  Major  E.  F.  Graham, 
division  adjutant;  Major  J.  V.  Kuznik,  division  ord- 
nance officer;  Major  Paul  M.  Goodrich,  division 
signal  officer;  Major  John  P.  Hasson,  division  quar 
termaster;  and  Major  Harry  S.  Grier,  division  in- 
■^pector.  Most  of  these  officers  reached  the  camp 
shortly  after  General  Greble  arrived,  August  25, 
and  about  that  time  Brigadier  General  George 
Blakely,  also  of  the  regular  army,  arrived  to  take 
command   of  the  division's  artiller3^ 

First  to  arrive  at  the  new  camp  were  the  en- 
gineer units  from  Oklahoma,  under  the  command 
of  Major  Frank  B.  King.  These  units  were  followed 
a  day  or  two  later  by  the  Oklahoma  infantry, 
commanded  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Elta  H.  Jayne, 
who  had  taken  command  of  this  organization  when 
its  former  colonel,  Roy  H.  Hoffman,  had  been  pro- 
moted to  be  a  brigadier  general.  This  had  occur- 
red just  before  the  Oklahoma  troops  departed  from 
Fort  Sill.  Later  the  Oklahoma  cavalry  unJer  the 
command  of  Major  Donald  R.  Bonfoey  arrived,  as 
did  the  Oklahoma  field  hospital  company,  com- 
manded by  Major  Floyd  J.  Bolend.  This  complet- 
ed the  mobilization  of  the  Oklahomans. 

The  day  following  the  arrival  of  the  Oklahoma 
infantry  the  Texas  troops  began  to  come  in.  These 
were  the  newly  organized  units,  the  oldc  organi- 
zations being  sent  up  from  the  border  more  than 
a  month  later.  After  the  recruiting  drive  the 
Texas  infantry  regiments  had  been  formed  into 
two    brigades    of    three    regiments    each    with    the 


JO  The  Storij  of  the  36th 

Seventh  regiment  surplus.  The  First  Texas  In- 
fantry Brigade  was  commanded  by  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral Henry  Hutchings,  and  was  made  up  of  the 
Second  Texas  Infantry  under  Colonel  B.  F,  Dela- 
meter,  the  third  Texas  Infantr}^  under  Colonel 
George  P.  Rains,  and  the  Fourth  Texas  Infantry  un- 
der Colonel  Charles  W.  Nimon.  The  Second  Brigade 
was  commanded  by  Brigadier  General  John  A.  Hulen 
and  was  composed  of  the  First  Texas  Infantry, 
under  Colonel  Oscar  C.  Guessaz,  the  Fifth  Texas 
Infantry  under  Colonel  John  S.  Hoover,  and  the 
Sixth  Texas  Infantry  under  Colonel  Jules  E.  Much- 
ert.  The  Seventh  Texas  Infantry  was  command- 
ed by  Colonel  Alfred  W.  Bloor,  the  only  one  of  all 
the  colonels  to  remain  in  command  of  a  regiment 
throughout  the  war.  Brigadier  G'^neral  Hulen  also 
retained  his  command  throughout  the  war,  being 
one  of  the  few  brigadier  generals  of  the  National 
Guard  to  meet  with  such  success. 

The  problems  that  faced  the  division  com- 
mander upon  the  arrival  of  the  troops  in  Camp 
Bowie,  were  staggering  in  their  proportions.  To 
clothe  and  equip  the  men,  to  organize  the  staff, 
to  determine  the  courses  of  administration,  and  to 
bring  about  discipline  in  the  ranks  of  the  raw  re- 
cruits were  only  a  few  of  the  most  difficult  tasks  to 
be  accomplished.  Although  warehouses  had  been 
constructed  there  was  little  or  no  clothing  for  issue 
when  the  troops  arrived.  After  weeks  of  waiting, 
during  which  many  of  the  recruits  became  bare- 
foot and  wore  into  rags  their  civilian  clothes,  a 
small  quantity  of  summer  uniforms  and  shoes  was 
received  but  not  sufficient  to  properly  equip  the 
entire  command  and  the  middle  of  the  winter  had 


Fort  Sill  and  Camp  Bowie  11 

passed  before  everyone  had  the  required  amount 
of  serviceable  clothing.  Before  this  could  be  ac- 
complished a  supply  department  had  to  be  organ- 
ized on  a  large  scale.  The  greatest  difficulty  how- 
ever was  in  the  procurement  of  supplies.  Although 
large  warehouses  had  been  built  they  were  empty 
when  the  troops  arrived  and  many  requisitions, 
were  sent  in  before  they  began  to  fill  up  with  the 
required  articles. 

None  but  the  organizations  which  had  served 
along  the  Mexican  border  was  equipped  with  rifles 
and  all  organizations  had  to  be  eciuipped  with  the 
new  pack  and  field  equipment.  The  artillery  had 
no  guns,  the  field  signal  battalion  no  apparatus,  the 
engineers  no  implements  and  other  organizations 
were  equally  handicapped.  The  old  pack  equip- 
ment of  the  troops  that  had  been  in  service,  was 
out  of  date  and   unwieldy. 

Like  all  National  Guard  camps  the  men  lived 
in  pyramidal  tents  calculated  to  hold  eight  men 
comfortably.  These  tents  were  not  provided  with 
floors  and  stoves  until  after  the  cold  weather  had 
set  in  and  were  not  provided  with  lights  until 
later.  The  mess  halls,  bath  houses,  stables  and 
offices  were  wooden  structures,  although  the  mess 
halls  were  without  floors.  This  condition  finally 
was  overcome  after  many  months  of  hard  labor 
but  not  until  an  epidemic  of  influenza  had  crowded 
the  hospital  to  its  capacity  and  many  deaths  had 
resulted.  Fire  added  to  the  handicap  of  the  medi- 
cal corps  by  destroying  two  of  the  hospital  build- 
ings in  the  fall  and  another  fire  burned  one  of 
the  warehouses.  Weeks  were  required  to  recon- 
struct   the    burned    buildings.      Many    of    the    resi- 


12 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


Fort  Sill  and  Camp  Boivie  13 

dents  of  the  camp  vicinity  offered  to  take  patients 
from  the  hospital  into  their  homes  but  this  did  not 
become  necessary. 

Among  the  other  articles  which  were  not  sup- 
plied in  sufficient  quantities,  were  blankets  and 
comforters.  Through  the  agency  of  the  Red  Cross 
Society  comforters  were  collected  from  all  the 
larger  cities  of  Texas  and  shipped  to  the  camp  to 
be  distributed  where  they  assisted  materially  in 
making  ths  personnel  of  the  camp  comfortable. 
Tents  also  were  lacking  and  for  a  short  time  there 
was  an  average  of  twelve  men  to  a  tent.  During 
the  period  of  influenza  more  tents  arrived  and  the 
crowded  condition  was  relieved.  During  the  early 
winter  stoves  and  hot  water  plants  were  installed 
in  the   bath  houses. 

Immediately  after  the  troops  began  to  arrive 
the  problem  of  consolidating  units  to  form  larger 
Linits  and  additional  units  as  prescribed  in  the  tables 
of  organization,  published  by  the  war  department, 
was  taken  up  but  it  was  not  until  after  the  old 
Texas  infantry  regiments  had  arrived  from  the 
border  that  reorganization  was  actually  begun. 
This  was  accomplished  October  15.  although  organ- 
izations as  grouped  together  did  not  completely 
adjust  themselves  to  the  new  conditions  until 
weeks  afterward.  In  this  consolidation  headquar- 
ters troops  for  the  division  were  made  up  from  a 
troop  of  Texas  cavalry.  The  131st  Machine  Gun 
Battalion  was  composed  of  the  machine  gun  com- 
panies from  the  First  Oklahoma  Infantry,  the  Third 
Texas  Infantry  and  the  Fourth  Texas  Infantry. 
The  Seventy-first  Infantry  Brigade  was  made  up  of 
the    141st   Infantry,    (a    consolidat^'on    of  the   First 


14  The  Story  of  the  36th 

and  Second  Texas  Infantry),  the  142d  Infantry,  (a 
consolidation  of  the  First  Oklahoma  and  the 
Seventh  Texas  Infantry),  and  the  132d  Machine 
Gun  Battalion  comprised  four  machine  gun  com- 
panies with  the  machine  gun  company  of  the  First 
Texas  Infantry  as  a  nucleus.  The  Seventy-second 
Infantry  Brigade  was  composed  of  the  143d  Infan- 
try (the  Third  and  Fifth  Texas  Infantry),  the  144th 
Infantry  (the  Fourth  and  Sixth  Texas  Infantry) 
and  the  133d  Machine  Gun  Battalion  was  formed 
of  four  companies  with  the  machine  gun  company 
of  the  First  Texas  Cavalry  as  a  nucleus.  The  Sixty- 
first  Field  Artillery  Brigade  was  composed  of  the 
111th  Trench  Mortar  Battery  (formed  from  one 
troop  of  the  Texas  Cavalry),  the  131st  Field  Artil- 
lery (made  up  for  the  most  part  from  the  Second 
Texas  Artillery),  the  132d  Field  Artillery,  made 
up  of  dismounted  Texas  Cavalry  and  surplus  artil- 
lerymen, and  the  133d  Field  Artillery,  composed 
of  the  First  Texas  Artillery.  The  111th  Engineers 
were  formed  from  the  combined  Oklahoma  and 
Texas  Engineer  Battalions.  The  First  Texas  Field 
Signal  Battalion  was  enlarged  (d  become  the 
111th  Field  Signal  Battalion.  The  111th  Train 
Headquarters  and  Military  Police  were  formed  from 
the  similar  Texas  organization  reinforced  by  re- 
cruits from  all  organizations  in  camp.  The  111th 
Ammunition  Train  was  made  up  of  the  First 
Squadron  of  Oklahoma  Cavalry,  which  formed  the 
horse  section,  and  suitable  men  from  all  arms  of 
the  division  to  form  the  motorized  section.  The 
111th  Supply  train  was  formed  of  men  drawn  from 
all  parts  of  the  division.  The  111th  Sanitary  Train, 
containing  the   141st,   142d,   143d  and   144th  Field 


Fo7't  Sill  and  Camp  Boivie  15 

Hospital  Companies,  and  the  141st,  142d,  143d  and 
144th  Ambulance  Companies,  was  formed  from 
elements  of  the  First  and  Second  Texas  Ambu- 
lance Companies.  First  and  Second  Field  Hospital 
Companies,  and  the  First  Oklahoma  Field  Hospital 
Company,  strengthened  by  recruits  from  all  or- 
ganizations in  the  division.  The  111th  Engineer 
Train,  formed  from  Officers  and  men  taken  from 
the  111th  Engineers,  completed  the  organizations 
of  the  division. 

This  was  not  accomplished  without  considera- 
ble ill  feeling.  By  the  consolidation  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral Hoffman  was  left  without  a  command  in 
the  division.  A  depot  brigade  was  formed  and  he 
was  placed  at  its  head  but  later  he  was  ordered 
away  and  did  not  return.  Old  organizations  as 
well  as  new  had  hoped  to  retain  their  identity  and 
serve  under  the  officers  by  whom  they  had  been 
enlisted.  Many  surplus  captains  found  themselves 
without  companies  and  were  bitter  in  the  extreme 
after  having  wasted  months  of  their  time  in  the 
vain  hope  of  taking  their  companies  to  France. 
These  were  attached  to  consolidated  companies 
for  a  short  time  and  then  were  transferred  to  oth- 
er camps  or  separated  from  the  service.  To  add 
to  this  bitterness  about  200  reserve  officers  from  the 
training  camp  at  Fort  Sheridan,  were  distributed 
throughout  the  division  to  assist  in  the  instruction 
di  the  troops.  Most  of  these  however  were  sent 
to  other  camps  before  many  months,  only  those 
who  accepted  National  Guard  commissions  re- 
maining with  the  division. 

Before  they  received  their  uniforms  and  while 
they  were  still   armed   with   clubs   when   on   guard 


16 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


Fort  Sill  and  Camp  Bowie  IT 

duty,  the  troops  began  to  learn  their  first  lessons 
in  drill  and  discipline.  The  last  was  not  as  easy 
as  the  first.  Men  who  had  lived  all  their  lives  in. 
the  open  and  managed  their  own  affairs  found  it 
difficult  to  obey  someone  else  in  nearly  everything 
they  did,  especially  as  it  was  not  always  explained 
why  the  thing  was  to  be  done.  However,  willing- 
ness and  cheerfulness  accomplished  this  discipline 
in  the  end  and  it  may  be  said  that  no  division  in 
the  army  could  boast  of  a  better  personnel  than 
that  of  the  Thirty-sixth.  Its  men  were  from  many 
races.  Indians  from  Oklahoma,  Mexicans  from  the 
border  country,  German,  Irish,  Italian  and  Swedish 
settlers  in  the  central  parts  of  Texas,  mingled  with 
men  whose  parentage  had  been  American  so  long 
they  had  forgotten  all  other,  and  worked  shoulder 
to  shoulder.  Later  they  were  seen  in  France  by  the 
Commander  in  Chief  of  the  American  Expedition- 
ary Forces,  who  exclaimed:  "These  men  can  go 
anywhere!" 

The  Indians  from  Oklahoma  presented  one  of 
the  most  difficult  problems.  The  division  had  more 
Indians  in  its  personnel  than  any  other  division 
in  the  American  army  and  at  first  most  of  these 
were  placed  in  one  regiment,  the  142d.  In  this 
regiment  a  complete  Indian  company  was  formed, 
containing  fourteen  tribes.  Only  a  few  whites  were 
in  the  company.  One  of  these,  a  mechanic,  was 
an  Irishman,  while  one  of  the  cooks  was  a  Ger- 
man. Later  the  Indians  were  scattered  somewhat 
by  transfer  but  the  company  retained  its  identity 
as  the  Indian  company  until  the  division  was  de- 
mobilized. 


18  The  Story  of  the  36th 

Practice  on  the  target  range,  for  machine 
gunners  and  automatic  riflemen,  as  well  as  for 
troops  armed  with  the  rifle,  was  taken  up  in  the 
fall  of  1917,  even  before  many  of  the  soldiers  had 
been  armed  with  the  rifle.  The  Springfield  was 
the  weapon  used  at  first  but  in  December,  1917,  a 
shipment  of  7,000  new  United  States  Army  rifles. 
Model  1917,  arrived  and  then  the  troops  were  in- 
structed in  the  use  of  these.  Enough  of  the  new 
rifles  to  equip  the  entire  division  did  not  arrive 
until  March,  1918,  however,  and  at  first  the  older 
men  had  great  difficulty  in  adjusting  themselves 
to  the  larger  and  more  unwieldy  weapon  after  hav- 
ing used  the  1903  model  for  so  many  years.  In 
the  course  of  several  months,  however,  every  man 
m  the  division  had  fired  some  kind  of  a  course  on 
the  target  range  and  had  become  familiar  with  the 
new  arm. 

Automatic  riflemen  and  machine  gunners  were 
handicapped  to  a  considerably  greater  extent  in 
their  practice.  Instead  of  having  the  new  Brown- 
ing models  of  these  weapons  they  practiced  with 
the  French  Cauchat  automatic  rifle  and  several 
diflferent  makes  of  machine  gun,  including  the 
LeMis  gun,  the  Vickers,  the  Colt  and  the  Hotch- 
kiss.  About  this  time  Major  General  Greble,  who 
Iiad  been  in  France  with  Colonel  Williams,  chief- 
■of-staflF,  returned  to  the  division  and  began  train- 
ing the  command  in  the  methods  expected  to  be 
•employed  in  Eur^e. 

In  the  fall  of  1917,  officers  and  enlisted  men 
from  the  French  and  British  armies  had  arrived  at 
Camp  Bowie  to  establish  schools  for  the  instruc- 
tion   of   officers   and    non-commissioned    officers   in 


Fort  Sill  arid  Camp  Bowie  19 

warfare  as  developed  during  the  first  two  years 
of  the  war.  They  established  schools  in  machine 
gunnery,  the  use  of  the  automatic  rifle,  bayonet 
and  grenade,  the  firing  of  mortars  and  defense 
against  gas.  Also  a  school  of  military  intelligence 
was  conducted  and  the  intelligence  section  in  all 
units  was  organized.  So  eflficient  was  the  gas 
school  that  every  officer  and  enlisted  man  in  the 
division  passed  through  the  divisional  gas  chamber 
sometime  during  the  winter  and  spring  and  learn- 
ed how  to  manipulate  the  new  gas  mask  that  had 
been  fashioned  for  the  American  troops.  In  other 
schools  excellent  progress  also  was  made.  Each 
regiment  and  similar  organization  in  the  division 
soon  had  its  own  instructors  in  the  use  of  the 
bayonet,  grenade,  and  Stokes  mortars.  Bayonet 
courts  were  constructed  for  the  practical  applica- 
tion of  this  art.  The  bayonets  were  driven  into  the 
bodies  of  dummies,  and  grenades  were  hurled  into 
trenches  specially  constructed  to  bring  into  play 
the  maximum  skill  on  the  part  of  the  students  in 
the  course. 

While  the  schools  were  developing  specialists 
and  the  range  was  improving  the  ability  of  the 
men  to  shoot,  discipline  was  bemg  instilled  into 
officers  and  men  aiike  on  the  drill  ground  and,  as 
the  first  rudiments  of  training  were  grasped  the 
more  advanced  work  of  maneuvering  military  bod- 
ies in  the  tactics  of  attack  and  defense  were  taken 
up.  At  first  the  training  was  entirely  in  the  hands 
of  the  officers  of  the  various  regiments,  but  later 
the  French  officers  in  particular,  gave  their  assist- 
ance in  the  instruction  of  tactics.  This  training 
during  the  winter  months  was  hampered  to  a  con- 


20 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


o 

a 


Foi't  Sill  and  Camp  Bowie  21 

siderable  extent  by  the  heavy  snows  that  covered 
the  camp  at  various  times  and  rendered  the  ground 
too  soft  for  practical  field  w^ork  for  w^eeks  after- 
ward. Long  marches  took  the  place  of  drills  at 
such  times,  the  men  being  taught  road  discipline  as 
well  as  being  hardened  to  long  marches.  Later 
in  the  spring  these  marches  took  the  troops  to 
Lake  Worth,  an  artificial  body  of  water  about  ten 
miles  distant.  On  these  occasions  various  situations 
were  assumed  to  cause  the  troops  to  function  as 
nearly  as  possible  under  battle  conditions. 

A  short  time  after  the  reorganization  of  the 
division  in  the  fall,  the  commanding  general  ac- 
companied by  his  chief  of  staff  and  an  aide  de 
camp,  had  gone  to  Europe  to  get  actual  experience 
with  the  troops  in  the  trenches.  In  December  he 
returned  and  immediately  efforts  were  redoubled 
to  complete  an  elaborate  system  of  trenches  which 
had  been  started  near  the  Fort  Worth-Benbrook 
road  soon  after  the  camp  was  established.  This 
was  a  reproduction  of  actual  trenches  in  Europe. 
Wide  bands  of  barbed  wire  entanglements  were 
stretched  in  front  of  the  trench  system  and  deep 
dugouts  were  constructed.  As  soon  as  possible  the 
troops  were  sent  to  this  trench  system  to  live  for 
four  days  at  a  time,  during  which  combat  problems 
were  worked  out  both  for  day  iind  night  opera- 
tions. Helmets  and  gas  masks  were  worn  and  pa- 
trols covered  "no  man's  land"  both  day  and  night. 
The  telephones  and  buzzer  systems  of  communica- 
tion were  actually  in  operation  and  barrage  fire  of 
artillery  was  represented  for  the  troops  to  follow 
in  attack  and  raiding  formations. 


22  The  Story  of  the  36th 

In  addition  to  their  use  for  this  training  the 
trenches  were  used  to  demonstrate  the  effect  of 
trench  mortar  fire,  the  front  line  of  trenches  being 
the  target.  During  one  of  these  demonstrations, 
May  8,  1918,  one  of  the  mortar  shells  exploded 
prematurely  while  in  the  mortar,  killing  the  officer 
in  charge  of  the  gun  crews  as  well  as  ten  of  the 
enlisted  men  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  All  of 
these  were  members  of  the  gun  crew  with  the  ex- 
ception of  one.  The  accident  was  witnessed  by 
approximately  10,000  officers  and  men  and  the  di- 
vision got  its  first  impression  of  bloodshed  under 
battle  conditions. 

In  spite  of  the  disadvantages  under  which 
the  troops  labored  they  made  excellent  progress. 
The  appearance  of  the  division  personnel  attracted 
favorable  comment  from  various  sources  and  par- 
ticular pride  was  aroused  through  the  fact  that 
the  Thirty-sixth  was  the  only  National  Guard  di- 
vision in  the  army  to  be  allowed  to  conduct  one  of 
the  third  officers'  training  camps.  Excellent  re- 
sults were  obtained  from  this,  the  graduates  from 
the  school  being  about  sixty  percent  of  the  num- 
ber originally  enrolled.  So  successful  was  the 
school  that  a  fourth  officers'  training  camp  v/as  es- 
tablished in  May,  1918,  but  this  had  to  be  moved 
elsewhere  when  the  division  finally  received  orders 
to  go  to  the  port  of  embarkation. 

During  the  spring  of  1918  all  of  the  regimen- 
tal commanders  were  sent  to  a  school  at  Fort  Sam 
Houston,  Texas,  for  a  period  of  six  weeks  and  the 
field  officers  remaining  at  the  camp  were  given 
special  instruction  under  the  direction  of  the  Brit- 
ish and  French   officers.     Other  officers  that  had 


Fort  Sill  and  Camp  Bowie  23 

been  found  lacking  in  the  proper  qualities  had  been 
transferred  to  other  camps  or  had  been  dismissed 
from  the  service  and  constant  changes  in  the  offi- 
cer personnel  was  another  difficulty  that  had  to  be 
surmounted.  In  addition  to  this  the  division  was 
being  called  upon  continually  for  soldiers  skilled 
in  mechanical  trades.  These  were  sent  to  other 
camps  over  the  country  to  do  special  work  while 
some  were  sent  to  Europe  to  fill  the  gaps  that  had 
been  created  there  or  to  take  up  newly  required 
tasks  brought  about  by  the  expansion  of  the  Expe- 
ditionary Forces.  To  fill  the  places  of  these  men, 
approximately  4,000  drafted  men  were  added  to  the 
division  in  the  spring  and  every  effort  was  neces- 
sary to  bring  these  up  to  a  high  point  of  efficiency. 

Several  officers  from  the  regular  army  were 
added  to  the  personnel  at  division  headquarters 
during  the  last  part  of  the  winter  and  the  first 
of  spring,  at  which  time  a  considerable  number  of 
promotions  was  made  in  all  grades  of  the  commis- 
sioned personnel.  At  first  there  had  been  a  keen 
feeling  of  resentment  on  the  part  of  many  National 
Guard  officers  against  the  officers  from  the  regu- 
lars but  this  gradually  wore  away. 

Several  times  the  entire  division  was  reviewed 
by  the  division  commander  and  in  the  spring  the 
troops  were  marched  in  review  through  the  streets 
of  Fort  Worth  for  the  governors  of  Texas  and  Ok- 
lahoma. This  occurred  April  11.  Thousands  of 
people  from  all  parts  of  both  states  filled  the 
streets  and  specially  constructed  stands.  The  ap- 
pearance of  the  animals  and  transportation  in  the 
trains  as  well  as  the  general  appearance  of  the 
men    as   they   passed   in   review   was   the   cause   of 


24 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


Fort  Sill  and  Camp  Bowie      -  25 

many  compliments  and  high  hopes  were  aroused 
once  more  that  the  division  soon  would  be  called 
upon   to   fight. 

The  troops  had  hardly  started  to  settle  down 
in  camp  in  the  fall  of  1917  before  they  were  fixing 
the  date  for  departure  overseas.  All  of  the  esti- 
mates were  for  a  date  not  later  than  Christmas 
and  many  officers  as  well  as  enlisted  men  made 
wagers  on  the  subject.  As  the  months  passed  and 
no  orders  were  received  many  of  the  men  grew 
restless  and  some  actually  transferred  to  casual 
detachments  to  be  used  as  replacements  for  the 
divisions  in  France.  During  this  time  excellent 
service  was  rendered  at  the  camp  by  various  wel- 
fare associations.  These  provided  reading  rooms 
and  social  entertainment  for  the  enlisted  men  and 
during  the  influenza  epidemic  ably  assisted  in 
caring  for  the  sick. 

In  the  latter  part  of  May,  confidential  instruc- 
tions were  issued  to  all  officers,  covering  the  move- 
ment of  the  division  to  the  port  of  embarkation. 
Every  detail  was  considered.  Only  the  actual  date 
of  departure  was  witheld.  At  this  time  the  trench 
warfare  training  was  abandoned  for  maneuvers 
by  battalions  in  open  warfare  ^riving  an  indica- 
tion of  what  was  expected  to  develop  in  Europe. 
Finally  in  June  the  actual  order  for  departure  was 
received  and  published  confi.dentially  to  the  com- 
mand, railway  transportation  was  concentrated  at 
Fort  Worth  and  all  surplus  property  was  turned 
in  preparatory  to  the  departure. 


26 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


CHAPTER  II. 


FROM   CAMP  BOWIE   TO   BREST   AND   REDON. 

Preceding  the  division  in  its  departure  for  the 
port  of  embarkation  the  advance  party,  composed 
of  fourteen  officers  and  as  many  enlisted  men,  left 
Camp  Bowie  July  3,  and  arrived  at  Camp  Mills, 
Long  Island,  four  days  later,  where  they  prepared 
to  continue  their  journey  overseas.  It  was  the  duty 
of  this  party  to  go  ahead  of  the  division  to  the  ports 
of  embarkation  in  the  United  States  and  debarka- 
tion in  Europe,  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  the 
way  for  the  coming  of  the  main  body  of  troops. 
Its  duties  also  embraced  the  preparation  of  the 
training  area  for  the  troops  after  they  arrived 
overseas. 

The  advance  school  detachment  consisting  of 
more  than  100  men  and  officers,  left  Camp  Bowie 
the  day  following  the  advance  party,  with  inten- 
tion of  proceeding  to  France  to  enter  schools,  where 
they  would  be  given  instruction  in  the  latest  meth- 
ods employed  at  the  front.  When  this  school  party 
arrived  at  Camp  Mills,  however,  the  custom  of 
sending  advance  school  detachments  ahead  of 
divisions  going  abroad,  had  been  discontinued.  The 
school  detachment  then  remained  for  the  main 
body  of  troops  and  the  personnel  of  the  party 
sailed  with  the  respective  organizations  represent- 
ed in  it. 

[27] 


28  The  Story  of  the  36th 

In  the  physical  examination  and  classification 
of  men  and  officers  before  the  departure  from 
Camp  Bowie,  all  who  were  found  to  be  physically 
unfit  were  placed  in  a  development  battalion  which 
was  to  remain  at  the  camp.  Major  General  Greble, 
camp  commander,  who  had  been  demoted  to  a 
brigadier  general  late  in  February,  but  who  had 
remained  in  command  of  the  division,  was  left  at 
the  camp  also  in  command  of  the  development 
battalion   and  other  troops  that  remained. 

The  first  of  the  units  of  the  division  to  depart, 
were  the  infantry  brigades,  the  additional  machine 
gun  battalion  and  the  field  signal  battalion.  The 
first  trains  to  leave  the  camp  departed  July  8, 
and  others  followed  in  rapid  succession,  the  artil- 
lery and  ammunition  train  being  the  last  to  get 
under  way.  These  left  Camp  Bowie,  July  12,  and 
the  last  units  had  arrived  at  the  ports  of  embarka- 
tion July  22.  All  organizations  of  division  went 
to  Camp  Mills  with  the  exception  of  the  143d  In- 
fantry, which  embarked  at  Newport  News.  Vir- 
ginia. Practically  all  railroads  were  made  avail- 
able for  the  troop  trains.  Some  made  their  way 
to  New  York  by  following  the  general  outline  of 
the  Gulf  and  Atlantic  coasts  while  at  least  one  of 
the  trains  went  far  enough  north  to  pass  through  a 
portion  of  Canada.  The  greatest  secrecy  was  prac- 
ticed in  covering  the  time  of  departure  of  the  trains 
as  well  as  their  itinerary  in  order  to  prevent  all 
possibility  of  wrecks  suspected  to  have  been  planned 
by  agents  of  the  German  government.  The  trip 
to  the  port  consumed  on  an  average  of  four  days 
for  each  train.  Only  one  accident  marred  the 
trip.      One    train    was    wrecked    near    Shreveport, 


Camp  Bowie  to  Brest  and  Redon  29 

Louisiana,  one  man  being  killed  and  several  oth- 
ers injured. 

At  Camp  Mills,  command  of  the  division  passed 
to  Major  General  William  R.  Smith,  v^ho  had 
just  been  promoted  from  a  brigadier  general  in 
the  Thirty-seventh  Division,  where  he  had  com- 
manded the  Sixty-second  Field  Artillery  Brigade. 
Formal  command  of  the  Thirty-sixth  v^as  taken 
over  by  General  Smith,  July  13,  and  he  remained 
at  the  head  of  the  division  until  its  return  to  the 
United  States.  General  Smith  was  a  graduate  of 
the  military  academy  at  West  Point  and  had  a 
recognized  standing  in  the  regular  army  before 
the  war,  having  been  in  the  artillery  arm  of  the 
service.  At  the  time  he  assumed  command  of  the 
division,  the  Sixty-first  Artillery  Brigade  passed 
to  the  command  of  Brigadier  General  John  E. 
Stephens,  also  of  the  coast  artillery.  Brigadier 
General  Blakely  was  relieved  of  his  command  in 
the  artillery  brigade  a  short  time  before  the  move- 
ment began  from  Camp  Bowie. 

"The  Sam  Browne  Belt  and  Hov/  to  Wear  It" 
might  have  been  the  subject  of  many  a  lecture  at- 
tended by  one  and  conducted  in  the  secrecy  of  the 
individual  officers'  tents  after  the  Thirty-sixth  ar- 
rived at  Camp  Mills.  This  was  one  of  the  first  im- 
portant self-assigned  duties  attended  to  by  the 
ofi'icers  after  they  reached  camp.  Some  amusing 
sales  were  made  to  the  over-zealons.  Some  of  the 
officers  were  persuaded  to  purchase  great,  long 
belts  that  were  sufficient  to  encompass  their  bodies 
twice,  by  the  statement  that  it  would  be  necessary 
to  wear  the  belt  over  the  overcoat  in  France.  In 
the  same  manner  many  useless  articles  were  sold 


30 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


Camp  Bowie  to  Brest  and  Redon  31 

by  the  enterprising  vendors  of  officers'  equipment, 
who  had  established  small  stores  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  camp. 

Rivalling  the  Sam  Browne  belt  in  its  import- 
ance was  the  new  overseas  cap  which  was  to  take 
the  place  of  the  campaign  hat.  Officers  and  men 
shared  in  the  tnsk  of  adjusting  this  new  contrivance 
to  their  persons.  A  remarkable  variety  of  ideas 
were  developed  as  to  just  how  the  cap  should  be 
placed  rn  the  head,  many  attempting  to  wear  it 
after  the  fashion  of  a  "stocking  cap"  while  others 
gave  an  excellent  impersonation  of  Napoleon.  These 
new  articles  of  apparel  however  were  not  allowed 
to  be  Vv'orn  in  New  York,  where  men  and  officers 
went  as  often  as  time  and  money  allowed. 

The  privilege  of  seeing  Nev/  York  was  not 
given  to  all  however.  Some  of  the  units  arriving 
at  the  camp  August  14,  vv'ere  equipped  and  sent 
aboard  the  transports  at  Hoboken  the  same  day, 
not  being  allowed  to  spend  a  night  in  the  camp, 
so  great  was  the  necessity  for  loading  the  ships 
preparatory  to  departure.  In  this  short  space  of 
time  passenger  lists  had  to  be  compiled  and  the 
numerous  regulations  of  the  camp  regarding  physi- 
cal examinations,  had  to  be  complied  with.  Not 
all  of  the  troops  were  equipped  with  the  new  over- 
seas cap,  some  of  them  being  compelled  to  await 
iheir  arrival  at  the  training  area  in  France  before 
they  received  this  part  of  their  equipment.  Other 
units  of  the  division  remained  at  Camp  Mills  more 
than  two  weeks,  the  artillery  being  the  last  to 
ship.  One  of  the  regiments,  the  141st  Infantry, 
had  the  misfortune  to  be  sent  aboard  a  transport 
that  was  found  to  be  defective,  and  the  entire  com- 


32  The  Story  of  the  36th 

mand  was  returned  to  Camp  Mills  to  await  another 
boat.  This  caused  a  delay  of  only  a  couple  of  days 
however.  One  battalion  of  the  1 12d  Infantry  also 
was  delayed  because  its  transport  had  been  found 
to  have  a  bad  rudder. 

While  the  troops  were  at  Camp  Mills  they 
underwent  daily  inspections  as  to  physical  fitness 
as  well  as  to  ascertain  whether  their  equipment 
was  complete.  Inspectors  declared  some  of  the 
companies  to  be  the  best  in  appearance  of  any 
that  had  passed  through  the  port,  and  the  morale 
of  the  entire  division  was  at  a  high  point.  Each 
lighter  of  troops  that  made  its  way  from  the  ferry 
landing  at  Brooklyn  to  the  piers  at  Hoboken,  was 
crowded  with  the  cheerful  faces  of  men  who  seem- 
ed somewhat  more  than  delighted  at  the  prospect 
of  soon  entering  upon  the  great  adventure  of  their 
lives. 

Practically  all  of  the  troops  sailing  from  Ho- 
boken crossed  the  Atlantic  over  a  southernly  course 
that  took  them  far  down  into  the  Gulf  Stream  and 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Azores.  The  143d  Infantry, 
sailing  from  Newport  News,  however,  went  by 
way  of  Halifax,  Canada,  and  then  crossed  the 
northern  part  of  the  ocean  to  Liverpool,  England. 
Passing  through  England,  this  regiment  landed  at 
La  Havre.  The  advance  party  also  took  the  route 
through  England,  and  landing  at  the  same  port 
'n  France  July  22,  after  crossing  the  English 
Channel.  For  the  greater  part  of  the  division  the 
crossing  of  the  ocean  was  without  excitement  other 
than  that  attending  the  first  experience  at  sea  and 
the  novelty  of  strange  sights.  Constant  boat  drills 
were  held  on  all  the  transports  and  every  precau- 


Camp  Bowie  to  Brest  and  Redon  33 

tion  taken  to  guard  against  attacks  by  submarines. 
Only  the  convoy  of  eight  transports  which  sailed 
from  New  York  harbor  the  night  of  July  31  was 
the  exception  to  this  rule. 

Convoyed  by  the  United  States  cruiser  "Charles- 
ton," these  ships,  carrying  the  artillery  brigade, 
the  ammunition  train  and  the  First  Battalion  of 
the  142d  Infantry,  as  well  as  parts  of  other  units 
of  the  division,  was  attacked  three  times  by  sub- 
marines and  the  latter  part  of  the  voyage  has  been 
declared  to  have  been  the  most  adventurous  experi- 
enced by  any  convoy  crossing  the  Atlantic  during 
the  entire  war.  The  most  serious  of  these  attacks 
occurred  the  day  before  the  transports  arrived  at 
Brest,  France.  Without  warning  the  submarines 
appeared  in  the  center  of  the  fleet,  which  was 
guarded  at  the  time  by  a  flotilla  of  destroyers,, 
the  "Charleston"  having  turned  back  to  the  United 
States  a  short  time  previous.  The  appearance  of 
the  undersea  craft  was  the  signal  for  every  avail- 
able piece  of  naval  artillery  to  open  fire.  It  was 
stated  that  more  ammunition  was  used  by  the  naval 
gun  crews  in  this  voyage  than  by  all  the  other 
ships  of  the  navy  during  the  war  up  to  that  time. 
The  guns,  however,  had  not  been  able  to  get  into 
action  before  the  submarine  had  launched  a  tor- 
pedo which  barely  missed  the  stern  of  the  "Maui,** 
the  transport  bearing  the  First  Battalion  of  the 
142d  Infantry,  probably  the  closest  call  experienced 
by  any  of  the  troops. 

Hardly  had  the  periscope  of  the  enemy  craft 
been  sighted  than  one  of  the  destroyers  was  bear- 
ing down  upon  it,  and  although  the  submarine  sub- 
merged before  the   destroyer  reached  the   spot,   it 


34 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


«•*         '   rf  J      1  i 
_»~  -*«»    i        ^         ■■I  ,^^ 


Camp  Bowie  to  Brest  and  Redon  35 

was  not  in  time  to  escape.  A  depth  bomb  which 
made  the  sides  of  the  transports  in  the  vicinity 
groan  from  the  shock  of  the  explosion,  ended  the 
career  of  the  German  boat.  As  soon  as  the  bomb 
had  exploded  the  destroyer  wheeled  in  her  course 
and  sped  back  to  the  spot  to  drop  a  second 
depth  charge.  In  answer  to  this  second  explosion 
the  surface  of  the  sea  in  that  vicinity  was  covered 
with  oil  and  debris  from  the  destroyer's  prey. 

This  engagement  was  watched  with  the  same 
keen  zest  known  to  the  football  field.  Every  available 
vantage  spot  aboard  the  transports  was  crowded 
v.'ith  troops  who  cheered  and  cheered  again  as  the 
gun  crews  fired  their  pieces  and  the  destroyers  dart- 
ed here  and  there  to  drop  their  bombs.  When  the 
oil  and  debris  appeared  on  the  surface  of  the 
water  the  cheering  was  that  attending  a  touchdown. 
It  is  thought  that  the  convoy  was  attacked  by  the 
same  submarines  which  sank  the  "San  Juan"  oflf 
Fire  Island  the  morning  of  July  29,  although  there 
was  no  way  of  verifying  this.  In  the  engagements 
with  the  U-boats  no  damage  was  inflicted  to  the 
transports  and  the  entire  convoy  arrived  safely  in 
Brest  Harbor,  the  morning  of  August  12,  being  the 
last  of  the  division  to  reach  France. 

In  spite  of  the  excitement  that  prevailed  in 
the  battle  with  the  submarines  the  infantrymen 
aboard  the  "Maui"  learned  to  display  strategy 
that  was  worthy  of  the  best.  For  many  days  it 
had  been  difficult  to  get  enough  to  eat,  due  to 
the  over-crowded  condition  of  the  boat.  The  ship's 
galley  was  not  capable  of  feeding  so  many  men. 
When  the  greater  part  of  the  personnel  rushed 
on   deck,  the   hungry   doughboys   found  their   way 


36  The  Storij  of  the  36th 

below  and  obtained  a  supply  of  provisions  from 
the  unguarded  galley  that  left  the  larder  practi- 
cally exhausted.  Another  incident  that  later  caus- 
ed general  amusement  was  brought  about  when 
all  transports  put  on  full  steam  to  get  away  from 
the  vicinity  of  the  submarine  as  soon  as  possible. 
The  convoy  was  a  slow  one,  taking  fourteen  days 
to  cross,  and  the  troops  blamed  the  speed  on  the 
rearmost  ship,  an  Italian  steamer,  which  common 
rumor  declared  to  be  the  slow  boat  and  the  one 
which  the  rest  of  the  ships  had  to  wait  for.  When 
the  submarines  appeared,  this  ship  developed  speed 
that  astonished  those  who  were  watching.  She 
sped  through  the  balance  of  the  convoy  and  was 
lost  to  sight  within  a  short  time.  Later  it  developed 
that  the  Italian  boat  was  laden  with  explosives  to 
such  an  extent  that  had  she  been  hit  by  a  torpedo 
it  would  have  been  disastrous  to  any  other  ships 
in  her  vicinity. 

Not  all  the  troops  of  the  Thirty-sixth  debarked 
at  Brest.  The  sanitary  units  as  well  as  some  others 
landed  at  Bordeaux  and  St.  Nazaire.  However 
the  greater  number  went  ashore  at  Brest  and  had 
cause  long  afterward  to  remember  their  hardships 
there.  After  long  days  and  nights  in  crowded 
ship  holds  where  the  air  was  bad  and  where  they 
could  not  get  sufficient  exercise,  the  four  miles 
between  the  docks  at  Brest  and  the  rest  camp 
seemed  like  twenty.  Many  of  the  men  were  so 
weakened  that  they  were  unable  to  march  more 
than  half  a  mile  up  the  steep  slope  toward  the 
camp  before  they  were  compelled  to  fall  out  and 
rest.  The  rest  camp  was  a  camp  only  in  name. 
It  consisted   of  open  fields  in  the  vicinity  of  Pon- 


Camp  Bourne  to  Brest  tmd  Redon  37 

lanezean  Barracks,  constructed  by  Napoleon  I. 
These  fields  were  covered  with  manure  and  were 
wholly  without  sanitary  necessities.  The  only  baths 
to  be  had  were  at  the  old  Barracks  and  were  not 
adequate,  although  for  those  who  were  able  to 
get  under  them,  they  proved  a  blessed  relief.  While 
most  of  the  troops  were  at  the  camp  there  was  a 
constant  downpour  of  rain  although  during  the  first 
two  weeks  of  August  it  was  declared  that  the 
weather  was  more  pleasant  than  at  any  time  dur- 
ing the  year.  The  only  shelter  available  was  the 
shelter  tents  the  men  carried  in  their  packs.  At 
night  it  frequently  was  cold  in  addition  to  the 
dampness  and  one  death  was  reported  from  ex- 
posure. 

In  spite  of  these  hardships  the  troops  found 
many  things  to  interest  them.  Pontanezean  Bar- 
racks was  one  of  the  places  to  draw  the  greatest 
attention.  Many  of  the  relics  of  the  day  when 
Napoleon's  troops  had  lived  there,  still  were  in 
evidence.  One  of  these  was  the  guillotine  then  in 
use.  The  Barracks  were  of  stone  and  were  in- 
closed by  a  high  stone  wall,  for  the  purpose  of 
defense.  In  this  enclosure  the  First  Battalion  of 
the  142d  Infantry  passed  in  review  before  Presi- 
dent Poincaire  of  France,  who  visited  the  camp  at 
that  time. 

As  soon  as  they  could  do  so  most  of  the  sol- 
diers began  their  efforts  to  master  the  French  lan- 
guage. They  were  startled  when  they  marched 
through  the  streets  of  Brest  to  hear  the  French 
children  sing  "Hail  Hail,  The  Gang's  All  Here," 
and  very  quickly  they  learned  to  understand  what 
"Oo  la   la!"   meant,   when   spoken   by  the   demois- 


38 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


Camp  Boivie  to  Brest  and  Redon  39 

selles  along  the  way.  Much  disgust  was  ex- 
pressed at  the  mud  fences  surrounding  the  tiny 
fields  as  well  as  at  the  lack  of  automobiles  and 
sanitation.  Apparently  nowhere  were  there  facil- 
ities for  bathing.  Not  far  from  the  camp  were  sev- 
eral chateaux  which  were  inspected  with  the 
greatest  interest.  The  strange  garb  of  the  priests 
as  well  as  the  peasants  and  their  combination 
houses  wherein  the  stock  as  well  as  the  family 
found  residence,  were  the  subject  of  every  letter 
written  home,  and  the  use  of  the  antiquated  flail 
by  the  peasants  in  threshing  their  grain  was  so 
astounding  that  many  of  the  troops  declared  the 
land  to  be  not  worth  fighting  for. 

At  Brest  the  soldiers  obtained  their  first  view 
of  German  prisoners  of  war.  These  were  employed 
in  the  handling  of  cargoes  at  the  docks  and  looked 
so  Vv^ell  fed  that  the  Americans  found  room  to 
envy  them  after  the  long  ocean  experience.  Also 
they  saw  in  Brest  the  first  moat  and  walled  de- 
fenses that  characterize  so  many  European  cities. 
Although  the  moat  was  dry  and  a  tiny  street  car 
ran  along  its  bottom  in  places,  yet  it  visualized 
things  that  had  been  read  about  in  all  the  liter- 
ature of  Europe.  Men,  women  and  children  were 
wearing  wooden  shoes  everywhere,  leather  foot- 
wear being  th'^  exception.  Later  the  "sabots" 
were  the  most  common  thing  to  be  seen  but  to  the 
newly  arrived  Americans  they  v;ere  wonders  of 
another  world.  Every  house  was  of  stone,  no 
wooden  structures  being  visible. 

French  cafes  located  near  the  camp  came  in 
for  their  full  share  of  attention.  These  were  al- 
lowed by  the  regulations  to  sell  light  wines  to  the 


40  The  Story  of  the  36th 

troops  during  certain  hours  of  the  day  but  were 
forbidden  to  sell  cognac.  In  spite  of  these  regu- 
lations however  it  was  not  difficult  to  obtain  any 
and  all  varieties  of  drinks  in  the  evening.  Some 
of  the  officers  as  well  as  the  men  attempted  to 
sample  all  of  the  known  varieties  in  one  evening 
with  disastrous  results.  One  of  these,  from  the 
commissioned  personnel,  arrived  home  in  the  late 
hours  of  evening  and  discovered  that  his  tent  mate 
had  become  so  disgusted  with  the  lack  of  sanita- 
tion that  he  had  posted  certain  signs  to  remind 
himself  of  home.  The  late  arrival  became  so 
wrought  up  over  one  of  these  that  he  immediately 
repaired  to  an  adjoining  tent  where  he  put  his 
arms  around  the  neck  of  a  brother  officer  and 
sobbed  his  grief  into  the  other's  ear:  ''What  do 
you  think  of  that  blankety-blanked  tent  mate  of 
mine?  He's  put  up  a  sign  which  says,  'Don't  spit 
on  the  floor!'  " 

Practically  all  of  the  units  were  required  to 
remain  at  Brest  an  average  of  six  or  seven  days 
before  trains  could  take  them  away  to  the  training 
area.  The  destination  of  the  Thirty-sixth  Division 
was  known  as  the  Thirteenth  training  area,  and 
was  located  in  the  district  of  Aube,  about  100 
miles  east  of  Paris.  The  principal  town  in  the 
area  was  Bar-sur-Aube,  about  forty  miles  slightly 
south  of  east  from  the  city  of  Troyes.  Here  divi- 
sion headquarters  was  established  while  the  various 
units,  other  than  the  artillery  brigade,  were  scat- 
tered through  the  smaller  towns  in  the  area.  The 
Seventy-first  Infantry  Brigade  had  its  headquar- 
ters at  Bligny,  eleven  kilometers  south  of  Bar-sur- 
Aube,  while  the  Seventy-second  Brigade  headquar- 


Camp  Bowie  to  Brest  and  Redon  41 

ters  was  placed  in  Soulaines,  about  the  same  dis- 
tance to  the  north  of  Bar-sur-Aube.  The  engineers 
and  other  units  were  nearer  division  headquarters. 

Part  of  the  troops  enroute  to  Bar-sur-Aube 
from  Brest  passed  through  the  environs  of  Paris 
and  Versailles,  but  there  was  no  opportunity  to 
see  the  wonders  of  those  places.  Other  units  were 
sent  over  a  more  southernly  route  which  enabled 
them  to  see  such  old  cities  as  Orleans,  Tour  and 
Dijon.  These  latter  organizations  found  their  im- 
pressions of  France  greatly  improved  after  the 
filth  at  the  Brest  camp.  Wonderful  vistas  of  cul- 
tivated country,  where  the  farms  were  laid  out 
in  patchwork  of  beautiful  colors,  met  the  gaze 
of  the  travel-weary  troops  as  the  train  wound  in 
and  out  of  the  hills  of  central  France. 

Fatigued  with  the  trip  on  the  train,  as  well 
as  the  experiences  at  Brest  and  on  the  ocean,  most 
of  the  units  were  exhausted  when  they  reached 
their  training  area  and  the  march  from  Bar-sur- 
Aube  to  the  various  billets  was  the  hardest  that 
they  had  been  called  upon  to  make.  The  tovm 
lies  in  the  valley  of  the  little  Aube  river  and  is 
only  approached  from  the  north  and  south  by 
means  of  two  long  and  unusually  steep  hills.  Up 
these  two  slopes  the  doughboys  of  the  two  infan- 
try brigades  were  compelled  to  toil  as  soon  as 
they  unloaded  from  the  stock  cars  in  which  they 
had  made  the  journey  from  the  port  of  debarka- 
tion. These  were  the  "40  hommes,  8  cheveaux," 
or  "A.  E.  F.  Pullmans."  made  famous  by  the  wit 
of  the  American  soldier. 

At  Brest  the  Sixty-first  Artillery  Brigade  was 
separated  from  the  division,  never  to  rejoin  it.  The 


42 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


Camp  Boi&ie  to  Brest  arid  Redon  43 

personnel  remained  at  Brest  until  August  20, 
when  the  troops  were  taken  by  rail  to  Redon, 
France.  The  131st  and  132d  Field  Artillery  were 
billeted  in  Redon  proper  as  was  the  headquarters, 
Supply  Company  and  Headquarters  company  of  the 
133d  Field  Artillery,  but  the  Second  and  Third 
Battalions  of  the  133d  were  billeted  in  Nicholas 
de  Redon.  and  the  First  Battalion  in  Avasac,  both 
places  only  a  short  distance  from  Redon.  The  111th 
Ammunition  Train,  less  Companies  C  and  D,  also 
were  billeted  near  Redon,  and  remained  with  the 
artillery  throughout.  Companies  C  and  D  had 
been  sent  with  the  infantry  of  the  division  to  Bar- 
sur-Aube. 

At  Redon  the  artillery  was  taken  in  hand  by 
officers  from  the  French  army  to  begin  its  final 
preparation  for  service  at  the  front.  The  brigade 
remained  at  Redon  only  until  September  3,  when 
it  proceeded  by  marching  overland,  to  Camp  de 
Coetquidan,  the  famous  French  artillery  training 
center  which  had  been  established  by  Napoleon 
I,  and  which  was  the  first  school  of  its  kind  in  the 
world.  Two  days  later  the  brigade  began  a 
course  of  eight  weeks  instruction  which  it  did  not 
complete.  At  the  end  of  six  week.s  it  was  declared 
ready  for  service  and  was  ordered  to  rejoin  the 
division,  then  in  the  front  lines.  Due  to  delay  on 
account  of  an  insufficient  number  of  draft  animals 
for  the  light  artillery,  and  tractors  for  the  heavy 
pieces,  it  did  not  get  started  before  the  armistice 
was  signed,  November  11.  The  tractors  which 
were  to  have  been  allotted  to  the  heavy  artillery 
were  lost  when  the  ship  bringing  them  from  the 
United  States  was  sunk  off  the  French  coast.     Aft- 


44  The  Story  of  the  36th 

er  the  armistice  the  order  sending  the  artillery  to 
the  front  was  cancelled.  Thus  the  Artillery  was  not 
enabled  to  get  into  the  fighting  zone,  much  to  the 
chagrin  of  its  officers  and  men  who  had  made  an 
excellent  record   in  their  training. 


CHAPTER  III. 


TRAINING    IN    FRANCE. 

Following  their  arrival  in  the  Thirteenth  train- 
ing area  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Thirty- 
sixth  were  given  a  couple  of  days  in  which  to  set- 
tle themselves  in  billets,  to  locate  ground  for  ma- 
neuvering, drill  and  target  practice,  and  rest  after 
the  wearisome  journey  from  the  United  States. 
Immediately  division  headquarters  was  established 
in  Ear-sur-Aube,  reorganization  along  the  lines 
prescribed  by  the  American  Expeditionary  Forces 
was  demanded.  In  addition  to  the  chief  of  staff 
it  was  necessary  to  have  three  assistant  chiefs  of 
staff  and  other  subordinates  in  order  to  handle 
the  movements  that  would  be  demanded  of  the  di- 
vision in  the  field.  The  three  assistants  to  the 
chief  of  staff  were  known  as  G-1,  G-2  and  G-3.  The 
first  of  these  handled  all  administrative  matters, 
such  as  transportation,  supplies  and  subsistence 
The  duties  of  G-2  were  to  get  intelligence  of  the 
enemy  and  prevent  intelligence  or  information  be- 
ing sent  to  the  enemy.  The  third  officer  was  in 
charge  of  all  training  and  operations  of  the  divi- 
sion. In  this  manner  the  handling  of  the  division 
was  systematized  in  a  way  then  unknown  in  the 
United  States.  When  the  division  left  Camp  Bowie 
it  left  a  considerable  number  of  its  clerks  and 
stenographers  there  with  the  former  division  com- 
mander, to  take  care  of  the  camp,  and  correspond- 

[45] 


46 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


Training  in  Frwnce  47 

ingly  was  handicapped  as  soon  as  it  arrived  in 
Europe. 

Besides  the  necessary  changes  at  division  head- 
quarters there  were  many  other  shifts  in  the  units 
of  the  division.  The  first  task  taken  up  by  the 
new  division  staff  was  to  eliminate  officers  re- 
garded as  unfit  for  service  in  the  battle  lines. 
Within  a  short  space  of  time  forty-five  officers, 
including  Brigadier  General  Hutchings,  command- 
ing the  Seventy-first  Infantry  Brigade,  two  colonels, 
two  lieutenant  colonels,  five  majors,  eighteen  cap- 
tains and  thirteen  first  lieutenants  and  four  second 
lieutenants  were  sent  to  Blois,  France,  for  reclassi- 
fication or  discharge.  Also  the  division  lost  sixty- 
eight  other  oflFicers  for  various  reasons,  some  of 
them  being  sent  to  school  and  others  being  trans- 
ferred. To  help  fill  these  vacancies  in  the  ranks 
of  the  oflficers,  ninety-eight  new  officers  were  re- 
ceived, among  them  Brigadier  General  Pegram 
Whitworth,  who  took  command  of  the  Seventy-first 
Infantry  Brigade.  From  these  officers  it  was  nec- 
essary to  obtain  two  new  regimental  commanders, 
a  division  quartermaster,  a  division  ordnance  offi- 
cer, a  division  machine  gun  officer  and  other  spec- 
ially trained  officers.  At  this  time  an  order  was 
received  making  it  impossible  for  certain  positions 
on  the  staflf  to  be  filled  by  officers  of  the  regular 
army.  Consequently  field  officers  from  the  regi- 
ments had  to  be  transferred  to  headquarters  and 
vice   versa. 

Not  waiting  for  the  new  officers  to  adjust 
themselves  to  their  tasks  or  become  acquainted 
with  the  personnel  of  their  commands,  the  divi- 
sion was  plunged  into  an  intensive  training  period 


48  The  Story  of  the  36th 

that  was  expected  to  overcome  some  of  the  handi- 
caps the  men  were  facing.  At  Camp  Bowie  morale 
and  discipline  had  been  built  up  to  a  high  degree. 
The  men  were  healthy  and  willing,  although  some- 
times awkward  in  appearance,  especially  in  mat- 
ters connected  with  strict  military  etiquette.  Be- 
j^ond  the  belief  that  they  could  whip  the  whole 
German  army,  their  discipline,  their  willingness  to 
do,  their  ability  to  shoot  and  use  the  bayonet,  and 
their  knowledge  of  conditions  connected  with  trench 
warfare  they  were  not  ready  to   enter  the  field. 

Only  a  few  weeks  before  they  departed  from 
Camp  Bowie  they  had  been  equipped  with  the 
Browning  machine  gun  and  automatic  rifle  and 
some  of  the  units  had  never  seen  this  weapon. 
The  first  task  that  faced  the  platoon  and  com- 
pany commanders  was  to  master  the  weapon  them- 
selves and  see  that  it  was  taught  to  the  men  who 
were  to  use  it.  Another  task  was  the  instruction 
of  the  men  in  the  handling  of  live  grenades.  They 
had  handled  dummy  grenades  in  Texas  for  many 
months  but  not  until  they  arrived  in  Europe  did 
they  use  one  that  would  explode  when  thrown. 
Also  the  knowledge  of  how  to  maneuver  and  fight 
in  the  open  was  limited  and  a  system  of  liaison  had 
to  be  developed  from  its  very  foundation.  At  no 
time  in  their  training  had  the  infantrymen  advanced 
under  the  cover  of  actual  artillery  fire  and  this  was 
not  possible  in  the  Thirteenth  training  area  because 
of  the  absence  of  artillery  to  train  with.  Neither 
had  a  machine  gun  barrage  ever  been  attempted. 
March  discipline  was  another  thing  that  had  not 
been  developed  in  Texas,  because  the  division  had 
never  made  long  moves  by  marching.     Many  of  the 


Training  in  France  49 

officers  who  had  just  been  promoted  were  unfa- 
miliar with  their  work  and  had  to  learn  by  actual 
experience. 

To  overcome  these  deficiencies  many  marches 
in  which  the  strictest  discipline  was  observed  and 
daily  maneuvers  were  the  principal  features  of  the 
training  program.  Problems  for  all  units  from 
squads  to  the  division  were  worked  out.  On  the 
target  ranges  the  men  were  taken  through  maneuv- 
ers which  called  for  them  to  fire  real  ammunition 
while  advancing  from  one  position  of  cover  to  an- 
other. In  this  manner  the  enlisted  personnel  ob- 
tained their  best  idea  of  what  actual  battle  condi- 
tions would  be.  In  all  of  these  exercises,  espe- 
cially where  the  regiment  or  larger  organizations 
were  participating,  the  greatest  stress  was  laid  on 
the  writing  of  messages  and  the  ability  of  the 
junior  officers  to  estimate  situations.  Special 
schools  w^here  officers  and  non-commissioned  offi- 
cers were  taught  the  art  of  writing  clear  messages 
were  conducted  in  some  of  the  units  and  general 
progress  was  noted. 

In  the  midst  of  this  training  the  division  was 
called  upon  to  supply  a  large  portion  of  its  most 
seasoned  personnel  to  fill  the  gaps  in  other  divi- 
sions that  had  been  fighting  at  the  front.  Eighty 
officers  and  approximately  the  same  number  of 
non-commissioned  officers  were  sent  away  to 
schools  to  obtain  special  instruction  in  the  handling 
of  various  weapons.  To  assist  in  filling  the  va- 
cancies among  the  officers  about  seventy-five  re- 
cently commissioned  officers  from  the  candidate 
school  at  Langres  came  to  the  division  as  instruct- 
ors.     Practically    all    of   these    were    retained    wdth 


50 


The  Storij  of  the  36th 


Training  in  France  51 

the  division  permanently  and  went  into  action  with 
it  later.  Most  of  these  men  had  been  at  the  front 
and  rendered  great  assistance  in  training  the  troops 
in  the  handling   of  the   automatic   weapons. 

The  failure  to  conduct  proper  liaison  between 
units  large  and  small  and  the  difficulty  in  getting 
the  proper  kind  of  information  from  the  assault- 
ing troops  were  the  greatest  difficulties  to  be  over- 
come in  the  training.  In  the  short  time  allotted 
these  defects  were  only  partially  overcome.  The 
maps  provided  for  the  maneuvers  were  inadequate 
and  there  were  not  sufficient  instructors  but  at 
every  exercise  and  maneuver  the  greatest  stress 
was  placed  on  proper  liaison  and  its  importance 
was  brought  home  to  everyone. 

Although  supplied  with  a  certain  number  of 
automatic  rifles  and  machine  guns,  the  equipment 
of  the  division  was  by  no  means  complete,  because 
it  did  not  exist  in  Europe.  Practically  all  avail- 
able shipping  had  been  used  to  transport  troops 
with  the  result  that  the  amount  of  supplies  for 
these  was  insufficient.  No  Very  pistols,  for  the 
firing  of  rockets,  had  ever  been  seen  by  the  great- 
er part  of  the  personnel,  and  the  ability  to  use 
other  means  of  signaling  was  limited.  Nothing 
was  left  undone  to  overcome  these  difficulties 
however  and  at  no  time  was  there  a  lack  of  confi- 
dence. Many  of  the  units  developed  excellent  abil- 
ity to  maneuver;  to  advance,  taking  advantage  of 
every  possible  cover  and  to  flank  positions  rather 
than  take  them  by  direct  frontal  attack.  In  the 
142d  Infantry  a  model  platoon  of  the  very  best 
men  available,  was  developed  to  demonstrate  the 
manner  in  which  the  assault  should  be  conducted 


52  The  Story  of  the  36th 

against  one  or  more  machine  gun  nests.  This  dem- 
onstration was  conducted  for  the  benefit  of  several 
organizations  with  excellent  effect.  All  efforts 
to  obtain  a  sufficient  amount  of  motor  transporta- 
tion and  horses  to  haul  the  wagons  and  carts,  al- 
ready issued  the  division,  were  without  result, 
these  supplies  not  being  in  existence.  Food  was 
not  always  of  the  best  or  of  the  greatest  variety. 
Lack  of  transportation  caused  this  to  a  certain  de- 
gree while  another  cause  was  the  fact  that  the 
troops  fighting  at  the  front  were  supplied  even 
when  it  was  necessary  to  stint  other  units  in  the 
training  areas. 

Immediately  upon  their  arrival  in  the  little  vil- 
lages where  they  were  billeted  the  troops  began 
to  make  friends  with  the  French  peasants,  with 
\yhom  they  lived,  and  in  this  manner  obtained 
many  little  favors  that  made  life  more  endurable. 
Often  their  billets  were  uncomfortable.  The  men 
frequently  slept  in  the  lofts  of  barns  and  in  other 
undesirable  places  where  there  were  no  heating 
arrangements  and  where  they  could  not  keep 
clean.  But  they  shared  the  food  of  the  French 
people  and  spent  their  money  freely.  They  learn- 
ed to  jabber  a  little  French  and  get  what  recrea- 
tion they  could  in  the  evening  by  attempting  to  tell 
the  natives  about  the  wonders  of  America.  Train- 
ing went  forward  under  any  and  all  weather  condi- 
tions and  the  little  time  they  could  get  in  the 
homes  of  the  natives  proved  the  greatest  redeem- 
ing feature  of  the  period. 

Influenza  again  attacked  the  ranks  of  the  di- 
vision during  the  month  of  August  but  only  a  few 
organizations   were   seriously   hampered.      The   dis- 


Trcdning  in  France  53 

ease  was  in  a  milder  form  than  that  which  was 
raging  in  the  United  States  and  the  number  of 
deaths  was  comparatively  small.  It  was  necessary 
to  move  some  of  the  troops  into  better  quarters 
but  the  schedule  of  training  was  not  interfered 
with.  Some  of  the  infantry  regiments  tired  an 
entire  course  of  instruction  on  the  rifle  ranges. 
From  early  morning  to  late  at  night  the  officers 
and  men  were  engaged  in  various  tasks  connected 
with  their  training  and  the  period  was  filled  with 
almost  as  much  discomfort  and  hardship  as  was  to 
be  found  at  the  front. 

The  strength  of  the  division  was  still  further 
depleted  by  the  departure  of  the  111th  Engineers, 
September  10.  These  troops  were  transferred  to 
the  First  American  Army  Corps  as  corps  engineers 
and  remained  with  that  command  throughout  the 
fighting.  This  brought  the  strength  of  the  divi- 
sion down  to  15,590  enlisted  men  and  656  officers, 
a  shortage  of  approximately  five  percent  in  offi- 
cers and  twenty  percent  in  enlisted  men.  Without 
the  artillery,  ammunition  train  and  engineers  the 
division  should  have  had  about  20,000  men  and 
oft"icers. 

Although  under  great  handicaps  in  some  re- 
spects the  division  was  fortunate  in  others.  It  was 
the  first  division  to  be  armed  with  the  Browning 
automatic  rifles  and  machine  guns.  All  other 
troops,  including  the  regular  army  divisions  had 
gone  into  the  fighting  zone  armed  with  the  Chau- 
chat  automatic  rifle  and  the  Hotchkiss  machine 
gun.  This  had  necessitated  additional  work  in 
bringing  up  ammunition.  With  the  Browning 
weapons  the   same   ammunition  that  was   used   for 


54 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


Trcuining  in  France  55 

the  rifles  of  the  infantry  was  used  also  for  the  ma- 
chine guns  and  the  automatic  rifle.  The  person- 
nel of  every  unit  was  hardy  and  accustomed  to 
making  the  best  of  every  condition.  Most  of  the 
men  had  lived  in  the  open  and  the  hardships  at- 
tending campaigning  without  shelter  did  not  lessen 
m  any  degree  their  ardor  to  get  into  the  fight  and 
the  belief  that  they  were  superior  to  any  similar 
unit  in  the  German  army.  Although  the  officers 
and  men  had  known  each  other  at  home  in  the 
United  States  the  discipline  was  not  marred  by 
this.  In  nearly  every  case  the  troops  were  loyal 
to  the  greatest  degree  to  their  officers,  the  most 
of  whom  by  this  time  had  come  to  the  division  from 
organizations  other  than  the  National  Guard  units 
from  which  the  division  originally  had  been  form- 
ed. 

During  the  entire  training  period  the  troops 
were  without  Stokes  mortars,  of  which  a  certain 
number  was  assigned  to  every  regiment  of  infan- 
try as  well  as  the  mortar  battery  attached  to  the 
artillery.  Neither  did  the  infantry  have  tanks  to 
train  with  ^  in  their  maneuvers  and  knew  next  to 
nothing  about  the  use  of  these  in  the  field. 

Considering  these  things  the  ability  of  the 
troops  to  take  care  of  the  most  difficult  situations 
later  on,  may  be  looked  upon  as  all  the  more 
remarkable.  Other  divisions,  especially  the  first 
divisions  to  reach  France  had  been  given  many 
months  of  training  before  they  went  into  the  bat- 
tle line  to  occupy  a  quiet  sector.  These  divisions 
had  been  trained  with  artillery  as  well  as  tanks, 
and  had  been  given  detailed  instruction  in  advanc- 
ing by  the  aid  of  a  machine  gun  barrage,  the  guns 


56  The  Story  of  the  36th 

actually  firing  for  their  benefit.  The  Thirty-sixth 
had  none  of  these  things  and  instead  of  going  into 
a  quiet  sector  to  become  acquainted  with  the  enemy 
under  advantageous  conditions,  was  entered  in 
battle  under  the  worst  possible  surroundings  and 
facing  the  most  stubborn  kind  of  resistance.  One 
of  the  regular  army  divisions  v^hich  landed  in 
France  almost  simultaneously  with  the  Thirty- 
sixth,  was  sent  to  a  quiet  sector  to  the  east  of  the 
St.  Mihiel  salient,  and  remained  there  throughout 
the  conflict.  The  men  from  Texas  and  Oklahoma 
were  sent  to  drive  their  bayonets  forward  through 
the  desperate  resistance  of  the  German  army,  fight- 
ing with  its  back  to  the  wall,  and  fiercely  contest- 
ing every  inch  of  ground  to  save  itself  from  disas- 
ter. But  the  division  was  ready.  It  had  been  in 
training  only  a  little  more  than  four  weeks  but  it 
was  ready  and  the  hearts  of  the  men  beat  high  at 
the  prospect. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


TO  THE  FRONT. 

Orders  taking  the  Thirty-sixth  Division  from 
the  Thirteenth  training  area  were  so  brief  that  even 
the  division  headquarters  was  unaware  just  how 
close  to  the  line  the  command  was  destined  to  go. 
The  order  merely  stated  that  the  movement  would 
be  by  rail  to  a  new  area.  Prior  to  the  receipt 
of  this  order,  the  division  commander  had  been 
directed  to  send  three  officers  to  the  Belfort  front 
to  make  a  preliminary  inspection  of  that  sector, 
with  the  supposed  view  that  the  division  would  be 
moved  there  for  its  first  operation.  This  however 
developed  only  into  a  ruse  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
ceiving the  enemy.  False  field  orders,  maps  and  de- 
tails of  an  attack,  were  left  purposely  where  they 
might  be  picked  up  by  enemy  agents.  These  false 
plans  promptly  disappeared  and  within  a  short  time 
five  enemy  divisions  were  moved  to  that  point  to 
make  a  defense  against  the  supposed  attack,  while 
the  First  American  Army  was  hammering  its  way 
forward  in  the  great  drive  between  the  Meuse  River 
and  the  Argonne  Forest. 

The  orders  sending  the  division  from  the  Thir- 
teenth area  were  received  at  headquarters  in  Bar- 
sur-Aube,  September  23,  and  two  days  later  the 
actual  movement  of  the  troops  began.  First  all 
salvage  was  collected  and  disposed  of.  A  great 
amount   of  extra   equipment  that  had   been   issued 

[57] 


58 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


To   the  Front  ^^ 

at  Camp  Mills  before  the  troops  sailed  from  the 
United  States,  was  discarded  because  it  could  not 
be  carried  in  the  field.  The  small  amount  of 
transportation  in  the  division  was  not  adequate 
to  gather  up  all  the  salvage  and  much  of  this  was 
left  in  the  little  towns  where  the  troops  were  bil- 
leted, to  be  collected  later  by  the  salvage  organiza- 
tion of  the  army.  Grenades  and  other  explosives 
were  buried  in  places  where  they  could  do  little 
or  no  damage  and  much  privately  owned  equip- 
ment, that  had  been  carried  up  to  that  time  was 
presented  to  the  French  peasants.  A  few  com- 
panies carried  all  their  blankets  many  miles  to  the 
trains,  while  others  employed  French  carts  to  trans- 
port this  part  of  their  equipment. 

Although  in  the  area  but  a  short  time  the  sol- 
diers and  the  peasants  had  formed  strong  attach- 
ments. Many  of  the  older  women,  who  had  lost 
relatives  in  the  war,  wept  as  the  troops  marched 
out  of  the  little  villages  and  everywhere  the  na- 
tives lined  the  roads  to  wish  the  soldiers  a  "bon 
chance"  (good  luck).  Entraining  points  were  at 
Bar-sur-Aube,  Bar-sur-Seine  and  Brienne  le  Cha- 
teau, and  although  some  of  the  units  found  it  nec- 
essary to  march  many  miles  over  hills  to  the  rail- 
way stations,  the  march  was  conducted  in  an  ex- 
cellent manner.  The  troops  were  placed  on  the 
trains  .in  good  order  and  all  sections  began  the 
movement  promptly.  This  was  done  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  machine  gun  carts  had  to  be  hauled 
to  the  railroads  by  hand,  there  being  no  animals 
to  draw  them.  In  one  instance  it  was  necessary 
for  an  organization  to  march  sixteen  miles,  al- 
though the   march   table   had   been    prepared    with 


60  The  Story  of  the  36th 

a  view  to  cause  the  minimum  amount  of  marching 
to  all  units. 

The  day  the  Thirty-sixth  left  the  area  around 
Bar-sur-Aube,  the  grand  assault  of  the  First  Am- 
erican Army  between  the  Meuse  and  the  Aisne 
Rivers  was  launched.  The  St.  Mihiel  salient  had 
been  reduced  earlier  in  September  and  in  the 
month  previous  the  line  between  Reims  and  Sois- 
sons  had  been  straightened,  until  the  Marne  salient 
had  been  eliminated.  This  had  followed  the  as- 
sault of  the  First  and  Second  American  Divisions 
operating  with  the  First  Moroccan  Division  (French 
Foreign  Legion)  south  of  Soissons.  At  the  same 
time  the  First  American  Army  was  fighting  its 
way  forward  in  the  operation  of  the  Meuse-Ar- 
gonne,  the  Fourth  French  Army  under  General 
Gourard  was  forcing  the  Germans  out  of  their  Hind- 
enburg  defenses  in  the  Champagne.  This  was  be- 
tween Reims  and  the  Aisne  river,  o"  just  to  the  west 
of  the  First  American  Army.  The  First  American 
Army  had  as  its  aim  the  capture  of  Sedan  and  the 
severing  of  the  German  forces,  while  the  Fourth 
French  Army  was  working  in  the  direction  of  Me- 
zieres,  another  important  railroad  center  just  to  the 
west  of  Sedan.  To  the  east  of  the  Fourth  French 
Army  was  the  Fifth  French  Army,  the  two  being 
under  the  general  command  of  General  Retain. 
The  drive  that  was  being  conducted  by  all  of  these 
combined  forces  in  reality  was  that  which  had  been 
expected  to  develop  in  the  spring  of  1919.  The 
tendency  of  the  German  forces  i;o  retire  however 
called  for  the  advance  to  be  made  at  this  time 
and  strategy  demanded  that  every  available  com- 
bat  unit   be   hurled    against   the    crumbling    enemy 


To   the  Front  61, 

defenses,  in  order  to  hasten  their  collapse  and 
bring  about  a  hasty  end  to  the  struggle.  For  this 
and  only  this  reason  was  the  Thirty-sixth  Division 
called  upon  to  perform  a  herculean  task,  although 
unequipped   and   without   experience    under   fire. 

It  was  to  move  into  the  area  occupied  by  the 
Fifth  French  Army  that  the  division  left  Bar-sur- 
Aube,  although  this  information  was  not  received 
until  the  first  elements  were  ready  to  go  aboard 
the  trains.  The  Thirty-sixth  and  the  Second  Divi- 
sions had  been  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  French 
high  command,  the  Second  Division  being  assigned 
to  the  sector  of  the  Fourth  French  Army.  Later 
it  became  known  that  the  Thirty-sixth  was  expected 
to  be  used  in  a  follow  up  movement  should  the 
French  develop  strength  sufficient  to  break  the 
German  line  east  of  Reims.  Had  this  been  the 
case  the  Americans  would  have  been  used  to  push 
forward  vigorously  after  the  line  was  broken  and 
to  exploit  the  ground  beyond.  At  the  time  the  Texas- 
Oklahoma  division  was  sent  to  the  Fifth  Army, 
large  bodies  of  cavalry  were  massed  in  the  same 
vicinity  with  the  hope  that  they  might  be  able  to 
operate  successfully  should  the  German  line  col- 
lapse. 

Epernay,  second  only  to  Reims  in  the  produc- 
tion of  champagne,  was  designated  as  one  of  the 
detraining  points  for  the  division  in  the  new  area, 
and  Avize,  a  village  a  short  distance  southeast  of 
Epernay  was  the  other.  Both  of  these  places  were 
about  thirty  miles  almost  due  east  of  Chateau- 
Thierry  and  directly  south  of  Reims,  At  Avize  the 
headquarters  of  the  French  Group  of  Armies  of 
the  Center  was  established  but  in  spite  of  this  the 


62 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


To  the  Front  63 

French  officials  apparently  were  not  expecting  the 
troops  of  the  Thirty-sixth  when  they  arrived  there 
in  the  middle  of  the  night.     The  trip  from  Bar-sur- 
Aube  had   been  only  about  eighty  miles  in  length 
but   more   than   five   hours   had   been   consumed   in 
travel.     At  the  detraining  places  the  troops  unload- 
ed in  pitch  darkness,  lights  of  any  kind  being  pro- 
hibited.     The   advance   parties   that   had   been   de- 
tailed to  precede  the  division  had  been   unable  to 
reach   their   destinations   ahead    of   the    first   troop 
trains  because  they  did  not  know  where   the   des- 
tinations were  to  be.     In  a  drizzle  of  rain  that  came 
down    steadily    officers    as    well    as    soldiers   found 
shelter,  side  by  side,  wherever  shelter  of  any  sort 
was  available.      The   ruins   of  the   abandoned   rail- 
way stations  served  to   protect  some   while   others 
sought  refuge  in  other  ruined  houses  in  the  towns, 
that  had  been  bombed  repeatedly  by  German  air- 
craft.    When  the  dawn  came  it  revealed  the  first 
destruction   that  the   men   of  the   Thirty-sixth   had 
witnessed.     This  was  the  first  time  the  troops  had 
approached   near   enough   to   the    fighting   zone   to 
see  the  effect  of  bombs  and  frequently  during  the 
night  they  had  hushed  their  conversation  to  listen 
to  the  artillery  fire  just  to  the  north  of  them.   Some 
of  those  who  had  been   unable  to  find   a  place  to 
sleep  had  gone  to  the  edge  of  the  towns  to  see  the 
flashes  of  the  big  guns,  which  at  times  were  faintly 
visible. 

The  motor  transportation  of  the  division  had 
been  sent  overland  from  the  Thirteenth  training 
area  but  the  troops  did  not  wait  for  the  arrival  of 
this.  As  soon  as  they  were  able  to  see  their  way 
about  they  began   preparations  for  breakfast.      In- 


64  The  Story  of  the  36th 

genious  cooks  were  able  to  prepare  coffee  and  some 
hot  food  and  immediately  afterward  the  troops  fell 
into  ranks  and  marched  away  to  the  north.  The 
roads  were  heavy  with  mud  and  the  marching  was 
difficult  in  the  extreme.  The  men  were  cramped 
with  cold  and  attempts  to  sleep  in  uncomfortable 
places  but  the  sound  of  the  guns,  that  were  to  be 
heard  more  plainly  with  every  mile  traversed, 
served  as  an  incentive  to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  all. 
No  preparations  had  been  made  in  this  area  to 
billet  the  American  troops  but  each  unit  was  as- 
signed certain  villages  and,  although  these  were 
insufficient  to  care  for  all,  the  best  was  made  of 
the  condition.  Due  to  the  lack  of  transporLatiun  the 
problem  of  bringing  up  subsistence  and  other  stores 
from  the  railways  was  the  greatest.  In  this  work 
all  of  the  motor  transportation  was  employed  and 
the  French  furnished  some  relief  with  a  small  num- 
ber of  wagons.  In  this  area  the  machine  gun  bat- 
talions received  a  few  mules  for  their  machine  gun 
carts.  Rolling  kitchens  and  water  carts  for  all 
units  were  promised  but  were  not  received.  The 
division  had  to  rely  on  its  field  ranges,  which  were 
not  enough  for  the  number  of  men  who  had  to  be 
fed  and  were  difficult  to  move  from  one  point  to 
another.  Only  one  water  cart  to  a  regiment  was 
issued  and  this  did  not  begin  to  supply  the  de- 
mands of  the  troops.  In  the  matter  of  ordnance 
the  division  was  more  fortunate.  All  the  necessary 
trench  mortars  were  supplied  by  the  French  as 
well  as  grenades  and  other  munitions.  In  the 
moves,  however,  the  grenades  were  lost  by  the  di- 
vision's service  of  supply  and  were  not  available 
until  too   late.      The   French   also   supplied  the   di- 


To   the  Front  65 

vision  with  all  the  necessary  equipment  for  firing 
signal  rockets,  as  well  as  spare  parts  for  the  mor- 
tars and  37  millimeter  guns. 

All  units  of  the  division  were  billeted  in  the 
area  by  September  29,  three  days  after  the  depar- 
ture from  Bar-sur-Aube,  division  headquarters  be- 
ing located  at  Pocancy,  a  little  less  than  ten  miles 
to  the  west  of  Chalons-sur-Marne.  In  the  various 
towns  around  Pocancy  the  balance  of  the  division 
was  concentrated.  It  was  in  this  area  that  the 
troops  gained  their  first  knowledge  of  how  it  feels 
to  be  under  the  enemy's  bombing  squadrons.  Both 
Chalons-sur-Marne  and  Epernay  were  bombed  by 
the  Germans  two  nights  after  the  division  entered 
the  area.  The  greater  part  of  the  personnel  was 
located  in  billets  about  half  way  between  these 
two  places  and  the  explosion  of  the  giant  missiles 
caused  the  earth  to  tremble  throughout  the  interven- 
ing territory.  Up  overhead  the  steady  roar  of  the 
avions'  motors  brought  a  sound  of  possible  menace 
to  the  soldiers  on  the  ground  belov.%  but  in  spite  of 
this  every  officer  and  man  was  outside  the  billets 
straining  their  eyes  to  pierce  the  darkness  and  get 
a  possible  glimpse  of  the  enemy  planes.  Some  of 
the  men  appeared  with  their  rifles  to  take  a  shot 
and  no  one  seemed  to  think  of  seeking  cover.  The 
destruction  wrought  by  the  bombs  was  frightful. 
Six  houses  in  a  row  in  Chalons  were  reduced  to 
fine  pieces  of  debris  by  half  that  number  of  bombs. 
Several  women  and  children  were  wounded,  as  were 
some  French  soldiers  billeted  in  Epernay.  Fol- 
lov/ing  the  raid  the  French  avions  were  heard  go- 
ing over  the  enemy's  lines  all  through  the  night 
and    the       following    day    reports    were    circulated 


66  The  Story  of  the  36th 

that  a  dozen  towns  occupied  by  the  German  troops 
had  been  bombed  in  retaliation  for  the  enemy's 
attack. 

While  in  this  part  of  France  the  soldiers  heard 
many  stories  about  the  first  battle  of  the  Marne, 
when  the  Huns  had  been  turned  back  in  their  first 
effort  to  seize  Paris.  At  Avize  they  were  told  how 
the  French  infantry  in  their  red  breeches  had 
i-harged  the  German  machine  guns  with  no  weap- 
ons but  their  bayonets,  having  exhausted  all  their 
ammunition,  and  how  the  Huns  had  been  forced  to 
flee  for  their  lives.  The  Pocancy  area  lies  just 
to  the  south  of  the  river.  In  the  little  villages  the 
Hun  cavalry  had  paused  to  feed  on  the  chickens 
and  other  food  to  be  procured  from  the  farmers. 
While  preparing  to  sit  down  to  such  a  meal  in  a 
farm  house  near  Champigneul  the  German  horse- 
men had  been  so  surprised  by  the  rapid  advance 
of  the  French  that  they  abandoned  their  chickens 
and  rabbits  on  the  table,  where  they  had  just  been 
placed  for  them.  The  poilus  ate  the  feast  that  the 
Uhlans  had  prepared  and  then  pressed  on  to  the 
north  to  push  the  enemy  back  over  the  river. 

"The  Marne  has  been  a  very  good  river  to 
France,"  a  French  aviator  explained  earnestly.  "It 
has  been  a  good  river  to  us  twice.  Each  time  it 
stopped  the  Hun  when  for  him  to  have  advanced 
-would  have  meant  disaster  for  us.  Yes  it  is  a 
-very  good  river." 

Following  the  air  raids  on  Chalons  and  Eper- 
nay  the  men  were  more  careful  about  displaying 
lights  in  their  billets  at  night  and  about  smoke  ap- 
pearing during  the  day. 


To  the  Front  67 

At  Pocancy  the  division  was  joined  by  Special 
Service  Unit  No.  586,  one  of  the  ambulance  organi- 
zations from  the  United  States  that  had  been  serv- 
ing with  the  French  for  many  months,  and  which 
had  twenty-four  Ford  ambulances  that  later  were 
of  the  greatest  assistance  in  handling  the  wounded. 

The  G-2  section  of  the  division  experienced 
the  greatest  difficulty  in  getting  a  sufficient  quan- 
tity of  maps  of  the  area.  Only  small  maps  that 
gave  little  information  of  the  country  were  avail- 
able and  these  were  insufficient  in  number  to  be 
of  any  service  to  the  units  that  needed  them  most. 
The  map  making  machinery  allowed  for  all  divi- 
sional organizations,  was  not  furnished.  Perhaps 
from  this  more  than  from  any  othor  reason  the  di- 
vision was  handicapped  in  its  future  operations. 
Accurate  maps  of  the  country  and  more  definite 
information  would  have  saved  many  lives  in  the 
first  engagements.  But  the  morale  of  the  men  ap- 
parently was  not  affected  by  these  shortages.  Ev- 
erywhere they  remained  cheerful  under  the  most 
trying  circumstances  and  made  the  best  of  every- 
thing. While  grave  anxiety  was  causing  those  at 
division  headquarters  many  sleepless  hours  and 
the  division  commander  was  seeking  in  vain  to  get 
supplies  from  G.  H.  Q.,  the  troops  were  going 
calmly  about  their  training.  This  had  to  be  car- 
ried on  in  the  sheltered  places  where  they  could  not 
be  observed  by  the  German  aircraft.  Under  the 
trees  the  individual  soldiers  carried  on  in  their 
various  tasks,  supremely  confident  of  their  ability 
to  beat  the  enemy  no  matter  how  short  the  supplies 
might  be. 


68  The  Story  of  the  36th 

To  take  care  of  any  sickness  or  injuries  that 
might  develop  in  the  area  two  of  the  field  hospi- 
tal companies  set  up  their  hospitals  immediately 
upon  arrival  but  only  a  few  patients  were  received. 
In  spite  of  the  cold  and  damp  and  the  extremely 
poor  quarters  in  which  most  of  the  men  were 
housed,  the  personnel  remained  healthy.  Billeted 
in  shacks  that  had  been  occupied  by  the  native 
troops  from  Africa  as  well  as  labor  troops  com- 
posed mostly  of  coolies  from  the  East  Indies,  the 
men  yet  remained  remarkably  free  from  vermin  and 
most  of  them  managed  to  bathe  at  least  once  in 
a  while  in  the  area.  Part  of  the  good  health 
may  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  canteens  oper- 
ated by  English  women  afforded  several  of  the 
towns  a  place  for  writing  letters,  reading  and  re- 
freshments. A  great  number  of  letters  were  writ- 
ten each  day,  every  man  making  an  effort  to  de- 
scribe to  the  people  at  home  what  his  surround- 
ings were  and  the  impressions  made  by  the  artil- 
lery fire. 

When  the  general  assault  by  the  French  Ar- 
mies had  been  launched  against  the  Hindenburg 
line  in  the  Champagne  late  in  September,  they  had 
succeeded  in  breaking  through  that  defense  in 
practically  all  places  where  the  assault  was  made, 
but  they  had  been  unable  to  force  the  Germans 
any  great  distance  beyond.  The  defense  had  been 
especially  stubborn  to  the  northeast  of  Chalons- 
sur-Marne,  in  the  vicinity  of  what  was  known  as 
Blanc  Mont.  This  was  a  high  ridge  due  north 
of  the  town  of  Suippes  and  at  whose  southern 
base  lay  the  ruins  of  the  town  of  Somme-Py.  Here 
two   assaults  of  the  French  had  failed.     Then  the 


To   the  Front  69" 

Second  American  Division,  composed  of  the  Ninth 
and  Twenty-third  Infantry,  forming  the  Third  Bri- 
gade, and  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  Marines,  forming 
the  Fourth  Brigade,  as  well  as  the  Twelfth,  Fif- 
teenth and  Seventeenth  Field  Artillery,  and  other 
units,  had  been  called  upon  to  take  the  heights. 
The  Americans  succeeded  so  well  that  the  Ger- 
mans were  caught  in  their  observation  towers  on 
the  ridge  before  they  were  aware  that  the  attack- 
ing troops  were  upon  them.  But  beyond  the  hill 
the  Marines  especially  came  under  such  heavy  fire 
that  they  were  obliged  to  halt  and  consolidate  their 
positions  as  best  they  could.  Their  ranks  were  ter- 
ribly depleted  and  it  was  not  considered  possible 
for  them  to  advance  further,  if  indeed  they  could 
hold  their  ground  in  the  face  of  a  serious  counter- 
attack. In  this  delicate  situation  a  hurry  call  was 
sent  to  the  Thirty-sixth  for  one  brigade  to  fill  in 
the  gap,  by  forming  a  second  line  of  supporting 
troops  behind  the  Fourth  Brigade.  For  this  pur- 
pose the  entire  division  was  transferred  to  the 
Fourth  French  Army  under  General  Gourard  and 
the  Seventy-first  Brigade  was  ordered  to  proceed 
to  the  relief  of  the  Marines. 

Camions  or  French  trucks  to  take  the  reliev- 
ing troops  in  two  relays,  arrived  in  the  Pocancy 
area  the  afternoon  of  October  4,  and  the  142d  In- 
fantry as  well  as  the  132d  Machire  Gun  Battalion 
was  directed  to  proceed  in  the  first  relay  to  Suippes 
and  Somme-Suippe,  where  they  would  rest  until 
the  other  troops  in  the  brigade  were  brought  up. 
This  night  will  be  recalled  as  one  of  the  greatest 
discomfort  to  all  members  of  the  brigade.  In  the 
early  evening  the  soldiers  loaded  into  the  camions 


70  The  Story  of  the  36th 

which  set  out  in  the  dark,  without  the  aid  of  lights. 
At  this  time  the  men  were  equipped  with  only  one 
blanket  each.  The  night  air  was  cold  in  the  ex- 
treme. The  movement  of  the  camions,  or  trucks, 
made  it  colder.  Jolting  made  it  impossible  for 
their  passengers  to  sleep.  The  best  that  could  be 
done  was  to  huddle  together  for  the  sake  of 
warmth  and  hope  that  the  destination  would  be 
reached  as  soon  as  possible.  Passing  through 
Chalons,  the  grotesque  figures  of  the  military  po- 
lice appeared  in  the  gloom  to  give  the  drivers  di- 
rections. The  camions  halted  just  long  enough 
for  these  instructions  and  then  sped  on  into  the 
night.  Cigarettes  were  barred.  The  lights  from  these 
might  reveal  the  movement  to  the  enemy. 

Finally,  about  two  hours  before  the  dawn  the 
last  of  the  camions  in  the  first  convoy  arrived  in 
the  ruins  of  Suippes.  Those  who  had  been  asleep 
in  the  bottoms  of  the  trucks  were  aroused  from 
their  slumber  and  all  unloaded,  to  march  to  their 
camp  about  two  miles  further  to  the  east  nearer 
the  village  of  Somme-Suippe,  while  the  camions 
retraced  their  way  to  the  area  west  of  Chalons,  to 
pick  up  the  141st  Infantry.  It  was  several  hours 
after  dawn  when  the  latter  arrived  and  found  places 
in  the  half-dugouts,  half-shacks  that  had  been  al- 
lotted to  the  brigade  for  the  resting  places  dur- 
ing the  day.  Still  without  rolling  kitchens,  the 
cooks  set  up  the  field  ranges  and  prepared  coffee 
and  warm  food.  Many  of  the  men  were  so  hungry 
they  could  not  sleep.  Breakfast  over,  the  only 
order  issued  was  obeyed  immediately,  every  fellow 
went  to  bed  and  obtained  as  much  rest  as  possible. 


To  the  Front  71 

Brigade  as  well  as  regimental  headquarters 
tor  both  regiments  of  infantry  were  established  in 
the  town  of  Somme-Suippe,  where  later  the  dump 
for  baggage  for  the  entire  division  was  located.  In 
and  about  the  town  also  were  numerous  French 
and  French  colonial  troops  as  well  as  military  police 
from  the  Second  Division.  Here  the  men  of  the  Thir- 
ty-sixth learned  to  recognize  tanks  for  the  first  time, 
some  of  the  small  models  being  parked  in  the  town 
under  camouflage  awaiting  a  time  when  they  were 
to  be  used.  Here  the  roll  of  the  artillery  at  the 
front  was  continuous  and  all  through  the  day  the 
airplanes  of  the  enemy  as  well  as  the  Allies  could 
be  seen  circling  in  the  air  while  the  shells  from 
the  anti-aircraft  guns  dotted  the  sky  with  tiny  puffs 
of  smoke  when  they  exploded.  An  observation  bal- 
loon floating  lazily  behind  the  Allied  lines  proved 
keenly  interesting,  especially  with  so  many  of  the 
enemy  planes  in  view. 

In  fact  so  many  interesting  things  were  tak- 
ing place  that  most  of  the  troops  preferred  to 
sleep  only  a  short  time  during  the  morning.  In 
the  afternoon  they  were  paid  for  their  lack  of 
rest  when  a  large  batch  of  German  prisoners  were 
brought  back  from  the  front  lines  where  they  had 
been  captured  a  few  hours  before.  There  were 
both  old  and  young  men  among  these  and  for  the 
most  part  appeared  to  be  in  a  bad  plight.  They 
were  dirty  and  unkempt  in  appearance,  none  hav- 
ing shaved  for  several  days.  Their  clothing  was 
ragged  and  hunger  was  expressed  in  every  face. 
All  were  herded  into  a  pen  surrounded  by  barbed 
"wire  where  they  were  to  remain  until  sent  further 
to  the  rear.     Several  of  the  men  attempted  to  talk 


72  The  Story  of  the  36th 

to  the  "krouts,"  in  the  German  tongue,  only  to  be 
astounded  when  some  of  the  prisoners  replied  in 
very  good  English  and  explained  that  they  had 
been  in  the  United  States.  Some  had  lived  for 
many  years  in  America  and  most  of  them  appear- 
ed to  be  rather  glad  that  they  had  been  captured. 
The  strength  of  the  brigade  at  the  time  it  ar- 
rived in  the  Suippes  and  Somme-Suippe  area  was 
247  officers  and  5,955  men.  The  authorized 
strength  for  the  brigade  was  267  officers  and  8,211 
men,  as  provided  for  in  the  tables  of  organization. 
Attached  to  the  brigade  at  this  time  was  a  detach- 
ment of  the  111th  Field  Signal  Battalion,  consist- 
ing of  one  officer  and  fifty-five  men.  Both  the  in- 
fantry regiments  as  well  as  the  machine  gun  bat- 
talion were  short  a  great  number  of  draft  animals 
and  wagons.  The  141st  Infantry  by  this  time  had 
received  two  rolling  kitchens.  These  were  all  that 
were  in  the  brigade.  Partly  because  they  did  not 
realize  the  extent  of  this  handicap*,  partly  because 
they  could  not  have  been  discouraged  under  any 
conditions,  the  troops  were  in  fine  spirit.  The  field 
signal  detachment  was  better  equipped  than  the 
others  in  everything  but  transportation,  and  efforts 
were  not  being  spared  at  division  headquarters  to 
get  equipment  to  the  brigade  before  it  entered  the 
line.  Officers  were  sent  to  Chalons  and  other  places 
to  procure  additional  means  of  transporting  water 
and  rations.  The  next  day  these  efforts  were 
partially  successful  in  that  some  water  casks  were 
hauled  to  the  command  posts  of  the  regiments 
actually  in  the  front  line  and  later  rolling  kitchens 
enough  for  the  whole  brigade  were  received. 


To   the  Front  73 

During  the  afternoon  of  October  5,  Brigadier 
General  Whitworth,  who  had  been  instructed  that 
his  brigade  would  be  employed  with  the  Marine 
brigade,  reported  to  the  commander  of  the  Second 
Division,  Major  General  John  A.  Lejeune,  whose 
post  of  command  was  located  on  the  road  from 
Suippes  to  Somme-Py,  about  a  mile  north  of  Souain, 
or  three  miles  south  of  Somme-Py,  At  that  time 
the  Second  Division  had  not  received  instruc- 
tions that  the  brigade  from  the  Thirty-sixth  was  to 
operate  with  it.  After  a  short  conference,  in  which 
the  general  situation  was  discussed.  General  Whit- 
worth and  his  adjutant  returned  to  their  head- 
quarters  in   Suippes   to   await  further   instructions. 

These  instructions  arrived  about  8  o'clock  in 
the  evening  following  the  conference.  General  Le- 
jeune summoned  General  Whitworth  and  his  unit 
commanders,  Colonel  William  E.  Jackson,  com- 
manding the  141st  Infantry,  Colonel  Alfred  W. 
Eloor,  142d  Infantry,  and  Major  Preston  A.  Weath- 
ered, 132d  Machine  Gun  Battalion,  for  another 
conference.  This  word  reached  the  machine  gun 
commander  too  late  to  attend  but  the  general  and 
his  two  colonels  reported  to  the  command  post  of 
the  Second  Division,  where  they  received  orders 
that  the  brigade  had  been  placed  in  the  twenty-first 
French  Army  Corps,  and  that  it  would  relieve  the 
front  line  of  the  Second  Division  the  night  of  Octo- 
ber 6.  This  was  received  with  considerable  sur- 
prise, as  former  instructions  had  been  to  the  effect 
that  the  brigade  would  only  take  over  from  the 
Marines,  or  half  of  the  front  occupied  by  the  Second 
Division.  The  instructions  received  from  General 
Lejeune  were  that  the  entire  front  line  of  the  Sec- 


74  The  Story  of  the  36th 

ond  Division  would  be  relieved.  This  was  the  be- 
ginning of  misunderstandings  which  later  cost  the 
relieving  troops  heavy  losses. 

Sunday  morning,  October  6,  orders  were  is- 
sued to  all  units  of  the  brigade  to  get  under  way 
for  the  front.  All  company  and  other  organiza- 
tion property,  as  well  as  personal  belongings  of  the 
officers,  that  would  not  be  of  actual  service  in  bat- 
tle, was  placed  in  the  regimental  dumps  at  Somme- 
Suippe.  Field  ranges  were  abandoned  since  they 
could  not  be  carried  into  the  Imes  and  set  up 
there,  and  all  extra  subsistence  supplies  were 
stored  to  be  salvaged.  The  troops  fell  into  columns 
and  all  units  were  on  the  march  before  7  o'clock. 
By  this  time  most  of  the  men  realized  that  they 
were  marching  into  actual  battle.  This  was  the 
time  of  trial  that  all  had  been  looking  toward  ever 
since  they  first  donned  the  uniform  more  than  a 
year  before.  In  the  marches  of  previous  days  they 
had  always  felt  that  there  was  no  particular  rea- 
son why  they  should  not  fall  out  if  their  strength 
failed.  But  this  was  a  different  kind  of  march.  To 
fall  out  on  the  way  to  the  battle  Ime  was  disgrace, 
and  although  it  was  to  be  the  hardest  test  of 
strength  and  endurance  that  they  ever  were  des- 
tined to  face,  there  was  to  be  no  straggling  as  long 
as  will  power  remained. 

Retracing  their  steps  to  Somme-Suippe,  and 
then  to  Suippes,  the  columns  turned  due  north  in 
their  march  and  deserted  the  highway.  The  main 
road  from  Suippes  to  the  north  was  literally  filled 
with  all  kinds  of  traffic  on  wheels.  Here  was  a 
field  artillery  piece,  being  dragged  along  by  men 
as  well  as  bv  horses  when  the  occasion  demanded. 


To   the  Front  75 

Behind  it  would  be  a  string  of  combat  wagons 
filled  with  all  kinds  of  supplies  for  the  fighting 
men.  Then  would  be  a  water  cart,  a  camion  laden 
with  water  casks  and  trucks  filled  with  ammuni- 
tion and  supplies  for  the  various  branches  of  ser- 
vice. These  were  all  going  toward  the  front.  On 
the  other  side  of  the  road  would  be  a  counter-cur- 
rent of  ambulances  carrying  wounded,  empty  trucks 
and  wagons  going  to  the  rear  for  more  supplies, 
and  here  and  there  on  both  sides  of  the  road  would 
be  a  wrecked  wagon  or  other  vehicle,  broken  in 
the  press  of  getting  to  and  from  the  lines.  In  this 
jam  of  traffic  there  was  no  room  for  the  dough- 
boy. Before  the  column  had  proceeded  more  than 
a  kilometer  from  Suippes  it  was  necessary  to 
march  by  the  side  of  the  road. 

Before  two  kilometers  had  been  placed  behind 
them  the  marching  troops  found  themselves  cross- 
ing the  lines  of  defense  which  had  been  occupied 
by  the  French  through  more  than  four  years  of 
fighting.  A  little  farther  to  the  north,  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Souain,  of  which  scarcely  a  vestige  re- 
mained, the  former  German  defenses  were  en- 
countered. No  more  desolate  scene  existed  in  all 
the  western  front,  than  existed  here.  For  miles  on 
every  side  there  was  no  vegetation.  The  entire 
face  of  the  earth  was  covered  with  debris.  Mines 
had  added  their  fury  to  the  exploding  shells,  up- 
heaving the  ground  in  all  directions.  Trees  had 
been  shot  away  until  they  were  only  jagged  stumps 
sticking  out  of  the  mangled  soil.  This  is  the 
"naked  land"  of  France,  the  "Champagne  pouil- 
leuse."  Since  the  beginning  it  has  refused  the  ef- 
forts of  those  who  have  tried  to  cultivate  it.     The 


76 


The  Storif  of  the  JHth 


To   the   Front  77 

pine  trees  represent  the  first  victory  over  the  land 
which  formerly  was  entirely  barren.  First  the 
resinous  trees  and  then  late  the  wiry  grass.  Noth- 
ing else  has  been  produced  there  simply  because 
the  soil  refuses  to  give  it  life  except  here  and  there 
where  the  tiny  streams  connect  the  scattered  vil- 
lages. 

Formerly  this  had  been  a  land  of  beauty,  of 
inhabited  places  where  the  grass  furnished  graz- 
ing and  where  the  planted  pine  groves  not  only 
relieved  the  barren  appearance  but  added  a  fresh- 
ness to  the  scenery  that  was  highly  attractive.  The 
whole  Champagne  country  is  a  great  knoll  of 
heavy  chalk.  Along  its  rivers,  the  Seine,  the  Aube, 
the  Marne,  the  Velse  and  the  Aisne  it  had  present- 
ed graceful  outlines  that  were  lovely  in  the  ex- 
treme. From  the  great  knoll  tiny  streams  had  run 
in  every  direction  to  empty  into  the  larger  rivers. 
The  Suippe  is  the  largest  of  these  tributary  streams 
and  into  it  empty  the  Ain  and  the  Py,  while  the 
Tourbe,  the  Bionne,  the  Dormoise  and  the  Alin 
empty  directly  into  the  Aisne.  At  the  source  of 
each  of  these  little  streams  formerly  was  a  village, 
or  in  the  language  of  the  country  a  "Somme."  As 
the  result  of  this  the  villages  have  been  called 
Somme-Tourbe,  Somme-Suippe.  Somme-Bionne  and 
Somme-Py.  Sometimes  the  "somme"  was  short- 
ened into  "sou"  thus  developing  the  name  Souain, 

This  was  the  scene  of  the  most  terrible  strug- 
gles between  the  French  and  the  German  armies 
in  September  and  October,  1915,  or  just  two  years 
before  the  men  of  the  Thirty-sixth  marched  across 
it.  Here  the  grandest  offensive  conducted  by  the 
French    during   the   entire    war   took    place.      On    a 


78  The  Story  of  the  36th 

front  more  than  twenty-five  miles  in  width  they 
drove  into  the  German  lines  and  tried  to  break 
through  to  hurl  the  invaders  out  of  the  land.  Fail- 
ing, they  settled  down  to  a  subborn  defense  that 
made  raids  of  nightly  occurrence.  Sometimes  the 
lines  would  be  raided  by  both  sides  twice  in  one 
night.  Here  the  bursting  shells  had  set  fire  to 
the  houses  of  interlaced  logs  and  thatched  roofs 
with  such  readiness  that  scarcely  one  of  these  re- 
mained. Constant  exposure  to  fire  had  left  hard- 
ly an  undemolished  stone  in  Souain.  Of  the  giant 
mill  that  formerly  was  located  there  nothing  but 
a  bit  of  the  wheel  remained.  Churches  that  had 
stood  through  six  centuries  were  crushed  to  powder 
by  the  high  explosive  shells  of  both  sides  and  the 
splendid  highways  that  had  been  main  arteries 
of  travel  since  the  days  the  first  Roman  road  build- 
ers entered  the  country,  were  torn  and  shattered 
by  shells  until  in  places  they  ceased  to  exist. 

The  Champagne  pouilleuse  has  always  been 
historic  ground.  Frederick  the  Great  in  his  cam- 
paigns met  his  first  serious  reverses  in  this  country 
around  Valmy,  and  before  that  time  through  all 
the  history  of  France  the  battles  in  the  Champagne 
had  been  most  numerous.  The  highway  of  the 
Romans  from  Lyon  to  the  English  Channel  had 
passed  through  this  country.  In  1915,  the  French 
cavalry  had  practically  its  only  opportunity  to 
fight  in  this  locality.  At  a  critical  moment  in  the 
fighting  two  squadrons  of  Huzzars  had  the  bold- 
ness to  go  to  the  assistance  of  the  French  infantry, 
which  was  attacking  Allonge  wood,  and  to  assault 
s-!vord  in  hand,  the  German  defenses.  In  the  fight 
more  than  600  Germans  were  captured. 


To  the  Front  79 

Here  the  country  also  lent  itself  admirably  to 
the  construction  of  deep  galleries  and  shelters.  The 
chalk  made  sleek  sides  for  the  trenches  and  re- 
tained its  form  readily.  It  did  not  wash  in  the 
rain,  thus  being  easy  to  keep  up.  In  their  defenses 
the  German  officers  were  especially  comfortable. 
Their  dugouts  elaborated  year  after  year  until  they 
were  not  only  safe  but  comfortable  in  all  kinds  of 
weather.  In  one  was  found  a  piano  and  billiard 
table,  while  many  were  well  furnished  with  large 
beds  and  upholstered  chairs.  In  one  was  found 
some  women's  garments. 

But  the  country  as  witnessed  by  the  marching 
doughboys  in  1918,  had  lost  all  its  former  attrac- 
tiveness. Unable  to  follow  the  road  on  account  of 
the  congestion  of  traffic,  they  made  their  way  in 
and  out  among  the  barbed  wire  entanglements 
and  maze  of  trenches  which  had  been  occupied  but 
a  short  time  before  by  the  opposing  forces.  Thick- 
ly scattered  through  all  parts  of  the  former  lines 
were  "dud"  shells  of  all  calibers.  Some  of  these 
were  almost  as  large  as  a  man  and  all  were  avoid- 
ed carefully.  They  had  been  known  to  explode 
with  but  a  slight  jar  after  remaining  in  exposed  po- 
sitions. Here  and  there  were  the  graves  of  both 
French  and  German  dead.  In  that  part  of  the  field 
which  had  been  "no  man's  land"  for  a  long  time, 
these  graves  were  particularly  noticeable,  the  dead 
having  been  buried  in  the  night  where  they  had 
fallen.  The  marching  of  necessity  was  slow.  It 
was  in  the  afternoon  before  the  columns  approach- 
ed the  vicinity  of  Somme-Py  and  for  the  first  time 
came  within  the  zone  of  fire. 


80 


The  St'T^:  of  il  (  -Uiih 


To   the  Front  81 

Through  the  greater  part  of  the  previous  night 
the  regimental  commanders  with  Brigadier  General 
Whitworth  had  been  in  conference  with  Major  Gen- 
eral Lejeune  concerning  the  details  of  the  relief. 
The  plan  outlined  by  the  commander  of  the  Second 
Division  provided  that  during  the  morning  and  aft- 
ernoon of  October  6,  the  troops  would  be  assem- 
bled in  the  valley  of  the  Py,  near  Somme-Py,  and 
would  wait  there  until  nightfall  before  attempting 
to  relieve  the  lines  of  the  Second  Division.  The 
shortage  of  transportation,  ordnance  equipment 
and  other  supplies  in  the  Thirty-sixth  Division, 
was  pointed  out  to  the  commander  of  the  Second 
Division  and  he  provided  for  his  supply  train  to 
haul  the  ammunition,  machine  gun  carts  and  ma- 
chine guns  to  a  point  near  Somme-Py  from  where 
they  could  be  taken  into  the  lines  by  the  troops 
that  were  to  handle  them.  In  addition  it  was  di- 
rected that  the  Second  Division  would  establish 
a  dump  near  Somme-Py,  that  it  would  furnish  the 
Seventy-first  Brigade  with  a  certain  number  of 
water  carts,  a  million  rounds  of  rifle  ammunition 
and  a  sufficient  amount  of  signal  pyrotechnics  and 
grenades.  Due  to  the  fact  that  the  brigade  had 
no  animals  to  haul  its  one-pounders  and  mortars 
from.  Suippes,  it  was  agreed  that  these  weapons 
in  use  by  the  Second  Division  Vv^ould  be  turned 
over  to  the  relieving  troops.  Another  confer- 
ence was  held  the  afternoon  of  October  6,  at  which 
time  a  roll  of  maps  was  handed  to  each  regimental 
commander  but  it  was  found  later  that  the  front 
lines  had  not  been  traced  on  these  and  that  they 
contained  little  or  no  information.  The  maps  had 
to    be    pieced    together,    which    required    so    much 


82  The  Story  of  the  36th 

time  that  they  were  not  completed  soon  enough  for 
the  use  to  which  they  were  to  be  put.  At  this  con- 
ference the  details  of  the  relief  were  gone  over. 
The  relief  was  to  start  immediately  after  dark  and 
was  to  be  completed  by  3  o'clock  the  following 
morning.  Guides  were  to  be  furnished  from  the 
front  line  organizations  and  were  to  meet  the  re- 
lieving troops  at  Somme-Py. 

When  the  Second  Division  had  attacked  the 
Germans  at  this  point  in  the  line  they  had  gained 
the  heights  of  Blanc  Mont  with  ease  but  when  they 
pressed  forward  along  the  northern  slopes  of  the 
hill,  they  met  such  heavy  resistance  from  the  enemy 
that  they  were  compelled  to  halt  and  dig  in.  Some 
of  the  assaulting  troops  made  places  for  them- 
selves in  shell  holes  while  others  dug  small  fox 
holes  and  some  utilized  a  portion  of  German 
trenches  apparently  constructed  for  training  pur- 
poses. Blanc  Mont  is  a  range  about  250  feet  high 
running  generally  east  and  west,  for  seven  or 
eight  kilometers,  and  having  its  highest  point  about 
four  kilometers  northwest  from  Somme-Py.  Its 
northern  slopes  form  half  of  the  water  shed  for  the 
Arnes,  a  small  tributary  of  the  Suippe.  About  4 
kilometers  from  the  summit  of  the  hill  and  lo- 
cated on  the  little  stream  is  the  village  of  St. 
Etienne-a-Arnes,  before  which  the  Marines  had 
been  halted  and  north  of  which  was  rising  ground 
on  which  the  Germans  had  planted  their  artillery 
and  machine  guns  in  such  fashion  as  to  observe 
and  sweep  every  foot  of  the  ground  north  of  Blanc 
Mont.  This  had  been  the  cause  of  heavy  casual- 
ties among  the  units  of  the  Second  Division.  On 
these   slopes  the   enemy  had   constructed   some   in- 


To  the  Front  83 

trenchments  and  arranged  a  defense  of  barbed 
wire,  which  while  not  elaborate,  was  well  placed 
for  the  purpose. 

A  line  running  generally  north  and  south 
through  the  village  of  St.  Etienne  marked  the 
western  boundary  of  the  Second  Division  sector,  as 
well  as  the  western  boundary  of  the  Twenty-first 
French  Corps.  West  of  this  line  was  the  Eleventh 
French  Corps  whose  right  element  was  the  Seventh 
French  Infantry.  From  this  line  the  sector  of  the 
Second  Division  extended  about  four  kilometers  to 
the  east  and  the  advanced  positions  of  the  Marines 
and  Third  Brigade  were  generally  about  halfway 
down  the  slope  from  the  top  of  the  hill  to  the  vil- 
lage of  St.  Etienne,  which  had  been  entered  but  not 
held  by  the  assaulting  troops.  Tne  right  elements 
of  the  Second  Division,  the  Ninth  and  Twenty-third 
Infantry,  were  to  be  relieved  by  the  141st  Infantry, 
while  the  left  elements,  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  Ma- 
rines, were  to  be  relieved  by  the  142d  Infantry. 
Both  the  regular  army  brigades  had  been  organ- 
ized into  provisional  battalions.  Two  of  these  pro- 
visional organizations  held  the  firsi  line,  two  others 
were  placed  in  the  support  positions  while  the  re- 
serve line  was  held  by  a  third  pair. 

Before  the  actual  relief  was  begun  each  regi- 
mental commander  designated  the  distribution  of 
his  troops  as  follows:  In  the  141st  Infantry  the 
First  Battalion  was  ordered  into  the  forward  posi- 
tion, the  Second  Battalion  into  the  support  posi- 
tion and  the  Third  Battalion  into  the  reserve  line. 
In  the  142d  Infantry  the  Second  Battalion  was 
placed  in  front,  the  First  Battalion  in  support  and 
the  Third  Battalion  in  reserve.     Companies  of  the 


84  The  Story  of  the  36th 

132d  Machine  Gun  Battalion  were  given  to  each 
regiment.  The  141st  Infantry  was  to  establish 
headquarters  in  the  command  post  of  the  Ninth 
Infantry,  while  the  142d  Infantry  was  to  take  over 
the  headquarters  of  the  Sixth  Marines.  Two  days 
rations,  water  and  ammunition  were  to  be  supplied 
the  relieving  troops  at  the  dumps,  in  Somme-Py. 
The  ammunition  was  distributed  as  were  the  ra- 
tions but  on  account  of  the  constant  shelling  by  the 
enemy's  guns  little  water  was  obtained.  Also 
the  blanket  rolls  of  the  men  were  dumped  at  this 
point,  nothing  being  carried  to  the  front  lines  other 
than  the  lightest  equipment. 

When  the  guides  from  the  Second  Division 
arrived  at  Somme-Py  in  the  afternoon  the  shelling 
in  the  town  was  so  heavy  that  they  immediately 
took  shelter  and  did  not  make  their  appearance 
until  about  8  o'clock.  All  of  these  guides  had  been 
brought  back  to  Somme-Py  in  trucks  and  were 
not  as  familiar  with  the  roads  as  was  necessary. 
In  addition  to  this  handicap,  some  of  them  were 
not  found  in  time  to  guide  the  relieving  elements. 
Others  who  were  to  report  to  the  142d  Infantry 
reported  to  the  141st  Infantry  instead,  and  vice 
versa.  Resulting  from  this  most  of  the  elements 
of  both  regiments  were  led  astray.  Before  some 
of  them  had  been  gone  from  the  village  an  hour 
they  were  completely  lost.  The  guides  and  troops 
then  retraced  their  steps  to  Somme-Py  and  began 
all  over  again.  Some  of  the  elements  repeated  this 
performance  a  third  time  before  they  finally  emerg- 
ed on  the  right  road. 

The  beginning  of  the  movement  out  of  Somme- 
Py  was  marked  by  a  heavy  increase  in  the  number 


To   the  Front  85 

of  shells  being  hurled   at  the   village   by   the    long 
range   enemy   guns.      When   they   arrived   south   of 
the  village  earlier  in  the  day  the  troops  came  un- 
der fire  from  the   enemy  for  the   first  time.     With 
nothing   less  than   awe  the   men   had   watched   the 
bursting   of   the   gigantic    missiles    loosed    from    the 
enemy  artillery.     With  widened  eyes  they  watched 
furtively    for    the    flash    and    smoke    accompanying 
the  bursting  of  each  shell,  sometimes   as  far   as  a 
mile  away,  sometimes   near   at   hand.      Each   burst 
shook   the    ground    for    a    great   distance    in    every 
direction  and  each  made  a  hole  in  the  earth  that 
would    have   harbored   a   small    delivery   wagon    or 
a  half-platoon  of  men.     But  all   of  the   shells   did 
not  burst.     Now  and  then  the  senses  of  the  soldiers 
would   be   drawn   taut   at  the   screaming   approach 
of  one  of  the  great  missiles,  but  instead  of  the  crash 
of  the  explosion  with  its  blinding  flash  and  deafen- 
ing roar,   there    would   be   only   the   thud    of   steel 
against  mud.     These  invariably  elicited  the  expres- 
sion :     "Another  friend  of  the  United  States  in  the 
German  munition  factories." 

This  shelling  was  directed  for  the  most  part  on 
the  roads  and  as  it  increased  in  the  early  evening 
the  wandering  troops  frequently  found  it  neces- 
sary to  break  up  into  detachments  and  hug  the 
places  of  shelter  to  avoid  casualties.  This  could 
not  but  result  in  confusion.  Some  of  the  troops 
became  separated  from  their  commands  in  this 
manner  and  only  were  located  and  directed  prop- 
erly after  hours  of  effort.  By  this  time  it  had  been 
discovered  at  headquarters  that  something  had 
gone  wrong.  Staff  officers  were  sent  hurriedly 
out   on    all  roads   regardless    of   shell   craters    over 


86  The  Story  of  the  36th 

which  their  motorcycles  were  operated.  The  con- 
fusion gradually  was  overcome  and  all  units  headed 
in  the  proper  direction. 

No  one  can  describe  properly  the  misery  of 
this  march.  Few  thought  of  making  complaint.  If 
a  man  chose  to  swear  it  was  done  under  his  breath. 
All  realized  that  the  hardship  was  a  matter  of  ne- 
cessity and  all  demonstrated  a  training  discipline 
that  would  have  been  a  credit  to  any  troops.  They 
stuck  to  the  task  and  "carried  on"  as  long  as 
strength  lasted.  A  few  did  fall  out.  In  each  in- 
stance the  man  would  stagger  onward  until  the 
help  of  his  comrades  on  either  side  and  the  deter- 
mination to  stick  it  out  would  avail  no  longer.  But 
these  were  few.  They  had  been  tired  with  the 
march  of  the  morning  and  because  of  the  excite- 
ment of  being  under  fire,  the  necessity  of  securing 
rations  and  ammunition  and  of  disposing  of  their 
packs,  not  many  had  obtained  any  sleep  during 
the  afternoon.  There  had  been  no  straggling  dur- 
ing the  day  and  there  was  none  in  the  night.  Men 
and  officers  who  fell  by  the  side  of  the  road  were 
evacuated  to  the  hospitals  but  pride  kept  the  oth- 
ers going.  Many  a  man  would  have  given  up  in 
the  early  hours  of  the  night  had  they  been  in  any 
other  place.  But  going  into  battle,  each  gritted 
his  teeth  a  little  harder,  and  although  the  straps 
of  even  the  light  combat  packs  numbed  his  shoul- 
ders, although  the  rub  of  a  stiif  boot  heel  was  like 
the  scorch  of  a  branding  iron,  although  his  knees 
wobbled  a  bit  under  his  weight,  continued  to  strug- 
gle on  through  the  darkness,  laughing  at  the  futile 
blasts  of  exploding  shells,  which  shook  the  earth 
and  rumbled  their  detonations  of  intended   death. 


To  the  Front  87 

Now  and  then  one  of  these  would  make  a  direct 
hit  on  this  or  that  roadway  and  one  of  them  took 
away  two  men  of  the  142d  Infantry.  These  were 
the  only  casualties.  Although  warm  enough  for 
comfort  while  marching,  each  halt  left  the  ranks 
shivering  from  the  night  air.  Midnight  came  but 
brought  little  rest.  At  stated  intervals  the  col- 
umns would  be  allowed  to  take  a  breath.  At  these 
times  men  dropped  in  their  tracks  from  sheer  ex- 
haustion but  when  the  time  came  for  them  to  move 
forward  again,  somehow  they  managed  to  get  to 
their  feet.  As  measured  by  the  standards  of  the 
American  soldier,  it  always  has  been  a  stain  on  a 
man's  reputation  to  fall  out  on  a  march.  Even  in 
times  of  peace  and  training  periods  it  had  not 
been  approved  in  the  Thirty-sixth  and  now  that 
they  were  going  forward  in  the  face  of  possible 
death  it  was  not  to  be  thought  of.  Rather  than 
fall  out  it  were  better  to  die ! 

It  seemed  that  dawn  would  never  come.  But 
few  kept  track  of  time.  The  night  was  divided 
into  periods  of  marching  and  stops.  Toward  morn- 
ing the  men  were  so  exhausted  that  the  officers 
leading  the  columns  dared  not  march  for  periods 
longer  than  thirty  minutes.  But  ar  last  the  gray  of 
dawn  came  and  with  it  the  blessed  announcement 
that  just  ahead  where  the  pine  trees  were  dripping 
with  the  weight  of  fine  rain  the  troops  dug  in  by 
the  side  of  the  Second  Division  men  they  had  come 
to  relieve.  In  the  shallow  holes  they  excavated 
to  secure  shelter  from  the  constant  fire  of  the 
enemy  artillery,  they  made  themselves  as  com- 
fortable as  possible.  With  gravel  for  a  bed  and 
their    equipment   for    a    pillow    most    of   them    fell 


88  The  Story  of  the  36th 

into  fitful  slumber,  too  weary  to  know  or  care 
how  close  the  shells  were  falling.  The  last  of  the 
infantry  line  companies  settled  into  position  about 
7  o'clock  in  the  morning,  but  elements  of  the  132d 
Machine  Gun  Battalion  did  not  arrive  in  position 
until  noon.  Headquarters  company  of  the  142d 
Infantry  did  not  get  into  position  until  night,  it 
having  been  returned  to  Somme-Py  after  having 
been  lost  hopelessly. 

In  the  meantime  the  adjutant  of  the  Seventy- 
first  Brigade  had  received  three  copies  of  a  map 
showing  the  distribution  of  the  troops  in  the  sector 
and  the  relative  positions  of  the  enemy.  But  he 
failed  to  deliver  these  maps  to  the  regimental  com- 
manders until  the  afternoon  of  October  7,  too  late 
to  serve  their  full  purpose.  This  and  the  fact  that 
many  of  the  troops  did  not  get  into  position  in  the 
line  until  the  night  of  the  seventh  were  regarded 
as  two  of  the  main  contributing  factors  in  the 
losses  that  followed.  But  of  these  things  the  men 
in  the  fox  holes  knew  nothing.  Scarcely  conscious 
of  their  surroundings  they  lay  in  waiting  through- 
out the  day  in  the  drizzle  that  made  their  shelters 
all  the  more  comfortable.  Patiently  they  rested 
in  their  holes  ready  for  the  time  when  they  would 
go  forward  to  the  attack. 


CHAPTER  V. 

ST.    ETIENNE. 

The  northern  slopes  of  Blanc  Mont  are  covered 
with  growths  of  pine  and  underbrush  which  thin 
out  as  the  village  of  St.  Etienne  and  the  Arnes 
are  approached.  Beyond  the  edge  of  these  trees 
and  underbrush  the  country  is  open  and  for  any- 
one to  venture  out  of  the  cover  was  to  draw  fire 
immediately  in  the  day  time.  At  night  the  roads 
and  trails,  all  of  which  had  been  accurately  plot- 
ted by  the  Germans  during  the  years  they  had  oc- 
cupied the  ground,  were  harassed  by  macnine  gun 
fire  as  well  as  artillery  fire.  When  the  troops  of 
the  Second  Division  had  pressed  on  after  they  cap- 
lured  Blanc  Mont,  some  of  their  elements  had  been 
able,  by  means  of  depressions  in  the  ground  to  gain 
positions  in  advance  of  the  points  where  the  trees 
ended  and  the  open  ground  began.  But  these  po- 
sitions could  not  be  consolidated  and  resulted  in 
large  gaps  in  the  front  line,  through  which  it  was 
possible  for  the  enemy  to  filter  his  troops  under 
cover  of  darkness  as  well  as  during  the  morning 
fogs  which  were  frequent.  In  this  way  the  badly 
disorganized  units  of  the  assaulting  forces  were 
constantly  threatened  with  being  cut  off  from 
the  rear  and  captured.  There  were  not  enough 
troops  to  continue  the  advance  farther  and  it  was 
impossible  to  consolidate  the  lines  because  the  ex- 
isting gaps  were  directly  under  fire  from  the 
enemy's  carefully  selected  positions.  The  plight 
of  the  Second  Division  units  was  serious  when  the 

[89] 


90  The  Story  of  the  36th 

relieving  troops  of  the  Seventy-first  Brigade  ar- 
rived and  it  was  soon  explained  why  the  men  of 
the  Thirty-sixth  had  been  obliged  to  endure  such 
hardship  in  order  to  avoid  the  possibility  of  having 
to  abandon  the  ground  that  had  been  gained  at 
such  heavy  cost.  Everywhere  through  the  trees 
were  to  be  found  the  bodies  of  the  German  and 
American   dead,  testifying  to  the  slaughter. 

Opposing  the  Americans  in  this  sector  were 
three  divisions  of  the  enemy,  the  Seventeenth,  the 
195th  and  the  213th.  These  divisions  were  made  up 
of  the  Eighth  Jager  regiment,  the  149th  Infantry  reg- 
iment, the  Eighteenth  Pioneer  Battalion,  the  368th 
Infantry,  the  Seventy-fourth  Reserve  regiment,  the 
Seventy-eighth  Infantry,  the  Ninetieth  Infantry, 
and  the  Eighty-ninth  Infantry.  Their  strength  never 
was  accurately  determined  by  the  intelligence  sec- 
tion but  it  was  assured  that  they  were  much  be- 
low their  normal  battle  strength.  Also  their  morale 
had  been  affected  to  a  certain  extent  by  the  re- 
verses the  German  armies  had  been  meeting  along 
all  fronts  since  the  early  part  of  the  summer.  At 
least  this  was  true  in  some  of  the  regiments.  Oth- 
ers, however,  could  not  have  fought  better  under 
any  conditions.  Also  these  troops  apparently  were 
supplied  with  sufficient  food  although  this  was  of 
a  poor  quality.  Their  bread  was  black  and  coarse 
and  their  meat  was  inferior.  Of  munitions  the 
enemy  was  supplied  far  beyond  what  could  possi- 
bly be  used.  Through  his  shortage  of  gasoline 
it  was  impossible  to  move  many  of  his  field  pieces 
and  everywhere  in  the  area  there  were  huge  stacks 
of  ammunition.  Added  to  this  the  enemy,  to  a 
man,  knew  every  foot  of  the  ground.     They  were 


St.  Etienne  91 

able  to  lay  their  guns,  large  and  fcimall,  where  they 
would  cause  the  greatest  execution. 

To  a  naturally  defensive  position  the  Ger- 
mans had  added  strength  by  stringing  barbed  wire 
from  tree  to  tree  in  the  woods  and  placing  strands 
of  entanglements  in  the  low  places  where  they 
would  serve  best  agamst  troops  advancing  under 
any  cover  that  the  folds  of  the  earth  provided. 
Each  possible  opening  through  these  positions  was 
covered  by  machine  guns  and  snipers,  armed  large- 
ly with  the  far-carrying  Luger  automatic  pistol. 
These  machine  gun  positions  were  arranged  one  in 
rear  of  the  other  so  that  no  sooner  would  one  be 
captured  than  another  would  open  fire.  With 
enormous  stores  of  ammunition  available  and  no 
opportunity  to  take  it  away  with  them  in  the  event 
they  were  forced  to  retire,  the  German  artillery- 
men apparently  were  trying  to  shoot  it  all  at  the 
Allied  lines.  From  the  time  the  Seventy-first 
Brigade  entered  the  sector  it  was  under  a  constant 
bombardment.  Shells  from  German  155s  and  Aus- 
trian 88s,  the  two  calibers  most  commonly  used  by 
the  Huns,  crashed  among  the  trees  throughout 
the  day  and  night,  the  bombardment  being  espe- 
cially violent  in  the  early  morning  and  late  after- 
noon,   when   it   reached   the   volume    of   a   barrage. 

The  day  and  night  of  October  7  was  in  the 
nature  of  a  day  of  preparation  although  little  prep- 
aration was  possible.  Many  of  the  units  did  not 
finally  get  into  position  until  the  night  of  the 
seventh  or  the  early  morning  of  the  eighth.  Lack 
of  transportation  made  it  impossible  to  bring  up 
warm  food  to  the  front  lines  and  the  men  were 
forced    to    eat    a    part    of    their    reserve    rations. 


92 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


Church    111   St.   Kti('iiii(\     Nor<'   rho  Steeple. 


St.  Etienyie  93 

The  water  in  their  canteens  was  exhausted  and  there 
was  little  opportunity  to  secure  more,  because  none 
could  be  hauled  from  the  wells  at  Somme-Py  except 
in  the  one  water  cart  provided  for  the  brigade.  But 
if  they  could  do  nothing  else  the  men  could  bur- 
row down  in  their  shallow  fox-holes  and  rest  in 
spite  of  the  constant  crashing  of  j-hells  in  the  pine 
groves  about  them.  Now  and  then  an  enemy 
plane  would  appear  overhead  and  spray  the 
ground  with  bullets  from  machine  guns  before  the 
Allied  planes  could  come  up  to  interfere.  The 
troops  were  so  well  hidden  under  the  thick  branch- 
es of  the  pines  that  little  damage  was  done,  how- 
ever. Late  in  the  evening  of  the  seventh  all  the 
cooks  in  the  regiments  were  sent  to  the  rear  to 
prepare  a  hot  meal  on  some  rolling  kitchens  that 
had  been  provided,  but  in  the  darkness  and  the 
confusion  the  meal  v/as  not  prepared  in  time  to 
get  to  the  troops  in  the   support  and   first  lines. 

During  the  morning  of  the  seventh  the  trains 
of  the  brigade  arrived  from  the  area  west  of 
Chalons,  from  whence  they  had  been  marching 
since  the  day  following  the  departure  of  the  troops 
in  camions.  They  had  reached  the  camp  near 
Somme-Suippe  the  afternoon  of  the  sixth,  and  then 
had  been  ordered  to  the  vicinity  of  Somme-Py  by 
Colonel  Bloor,  commanding  the  142d  Infantry. 
However,  the  supply  of  rolling  kitchens  did  not  ar- 
rive and  the  water  cart  situation  was  not  relieved. 
The  greatest  difficulty  had  been  encountered  in  the 
march  from  Suippes  to  Somme-Py.  The  French 
Military  police  had  insisted  that  the  trains  take 
the  same  route  as  the  infantry,  off  the  main  road, 
because  of  the  great  congestion  in  traffic,  but  this 


94  The  Story  of  the  36th 

had  been  found  impossible  and  the  commanding 
officer  of  the  trains,  had  gone  back  to  the  high- 
way over  the  protests  of  the  police  and  managed  to 
get  to  the  lines  in  time  to  serve  the  troops  during 
the   engagements  that  followed. 

In  the  evening  of  the  seventh,  details  were 
sent  back  from  practically  all  the  infantry  line 
companies  to  secure  supplies  of  hand  grenades. 
These  were  the  light  offensive  grenades  of  the 
French,  It  was  generally  understood  that  there 
v/as  to  be  an  attack  the  morning  of  the  eighth. 
This  had  been  expected  from  the  time  the  troops 
began  to  enter  the  sector  but  as  the  day  grew 
into  night  and  no  instructions  were  received  by 
the  company  and  battalion  commanders  it  was 
thought  that  the  plan  had  been  abandoned.  Each 
company  and  platoon  commander  trusted  that  this 
was  true  because  up  to  that  time  only  the  smallest 
amount  of  information  had  been  obtained  of  the 
position.  No  maps  had  been  distributed  to  the 
companies  and  only  the  most  general  idea  of  the 
terrain  was  to  be  had.  It  was  known  that  the 
enemy  had  particularly  commanding  positions  on 
the  right  and  left  of  the  sector  because  during  the 
afternoon  of  the  seventh,  messengers  attempting  to 
communicate  with  the  Marine  outpost  on  what  was 
known  as  Hill,  or  elevation,  140,  in  the  right  of 
the  142d  Infantry  sector,  reported  that  they  could 
not  reach  the  position  because  of  fire  from  the 
enemy  machine  guns.  One  runner  was  killed  at- 
tempting the  passage  and  the  others  gave  up  the 
effort.  During  the  morning  of  October  7,  a  patrol 
of  six  Germans  was  captured  in  the  rear  of  this 
hill,  having  been  enabled  during  the  darkness  and 


St.  Etienne  95 

fog  of  the  morning  to  filter  in  through  the  gap  in 
front  of  the  village  of  St.  Etienne,  At  the  time 
of  their  capture  they  were  trying  To  return  to  their 
lines  with  the   information  they   had   gathered. 

The  evening  of  the  seventh  regimental  com- 
manders were  summoned  to  the  command  post  of 
the  brigade  to  receive  verbally  from  General  Whit- 
worth,  the  following  warning  order: 

"71st   Infantry  Brigade   Headquarters, 
7th  October,  1918—19:45  O'clock,   (7:45  P.  M.) 

"Warning  Order: 

"1.  This  brigade  will  attach  upon  its  front 
in  the  direction  of  Cauroy-Machault,  within  the 
lines  of  the  sector  now  existing.  We  will  be  as- 
sisted in  the  attack  by  tanks  and  supported  by  the 
Third  and  Fourth  Brigades,  Fourth  Machine  Gun 
Battalion  and  the  Artillery  of  the  Second  Division. 

"2.  We  are  to  take  and  hold  line  as  indicat- 
ed on  map.  The  scheme  of  action  will  be — posi- 
tions of  regiments  unchanged,  battalions  will  ad- 
vance close  behind  the  barrage  with  the  tanks.  A 
standing  barrage  will  be  laid  down  at  a  point  to 
be  given,  which  will  last  one  half  hour.  Battal- 
ions will  pass  through  the  first  line  battalions  dur- 
ing the  standing  barrage  of  one  half  hour.  When 
the  final  objective  is  reached  a  standing  barrage 
of  one  hour  will  be  laid,  at  which  time,  the  third 
line  battalions  will  pass  through  to  take  positions, 
either  to  exploit  the  success  or  to  prepare  to  hold 
the  objective. 

"3.  Tanks  assisting  in  the  attack  will  aid  in 
destroying  machine  gun  nests.     As  these  nests  are 


96 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


St.  Etienne  97 

encountered  infantry  will  delay  their  attacks  to 
allow  the  tanks  to  overcome  the  machine  gun 
nests.  As  soon  as  this  is  accomplished  the  attack 
will  continue. 

"4.  Outposts  beyond  our  present  line  will  be 
withdrawn  at  H  hour  minus  thirty  minutes.  The 
rate  of  advance  will  be  100  meters  in  four  minutes. 

"5.  Carrying  parties  should  be  immediately 
organized  and  sent  to  the  divisional  dump  to  secure 
grenades  (on  the  basis  of  four  hand  grenades  and 
one  rifle  grenade  per  each  man)  and  also  obtain 
the  necessary  pyrotechnics. 

"6.  Plan  of  Liaison  will  be  that  prescribed 
by  the  Second  Division. 

P.   Whitworth, 
Brigadier  General." 
"Delivered  in  Person." 

This  verbal  order  from  the  brigade  command- 
er was  the  result  of  orders  issued  from  the  head- 
luarters  of  the  Fourth  French  Army  and  the 
'wenty-first  French  Army  Corps  in  turn,  for  an 
attack  which  was  calculated  to  not  only  capture 
the  village  of  St.  Etienne-a-Arnes  but  Machault, 
the  next  village  five  kilometers  to  the  north.  This 
was  for  the  purpose  of  hurrying  the  withdrawal 
of  the  enemy  from  the  vicinity  of  Reims,  twenty- 
five  miles  to  the  west.  To  stay  the  assaulting 
troops  and  enable  the  German  forces  to  retire  in 
good  order  from  the  direction  of  Reims,  it  was  ex- 
pected that  desperate  resistance  would  be  offered. 
At  the  time  they  received  the  verbal  warning 
order  the  regimental  commanders  were  given  maps 


98  The  Story  of  the  36th 

showing  their  sectors   and  the  objectives   that   were 
to  be  taken.    It  was  after  midnight,  however,  when 
the     regimental    commanders    reached     their     posts 
of   command    and    after   3    o'clock   the    morning    of 
October  8,  when  all   of  the  battalion   commanders 
reached   these   headquarters  for  their   instructions. 
In   the  meantime   the   regimental    commanders   had 
been  sent  copies  of  the  Second  Division  order  direct- 
ing the  attack  and  accompanying  this  was  a  chart 
indicating  where  the  barrage  was  to   fall   and  the 
points   where   it  would   be   laid   for   prolonged    pe- 
riods.    Before  these  instructions  could  be  explained 
to  the  battalion  commanders  and  these  command- 
ers could  return  to  their  posts,  it  was  time  for  the  at- 
tack to  start  and  they  were  useless  as  far  as  the 
commanders  of  the   combat  units   were   concerned. 
During  the  day  of  the   seventh,   repeatedly   it 
had  been  reported  from  the  French  on  the  left  as 
well  as  the  Marines  in  the  front  line  positions  that 
they  had   possession   of  St.   Etienne.      Contrary   in- 
formation which  came  back  to  the   commander  of 
the    142d   Infantry,   caused   that   officer   to   request 
that  a  body  of  Marines  be  sent  to  occupy  the  vil- 
lage  until    morning   to    assure   that   the    assaulting 
troops    would    be    protected    from    that    location. 
Sometime   during  the  night  of  the   seventh   it  was 
reported  to  Colonel  Bloor  that  two  provisional  com- 
panies of  Marines  had  occupied  the  town. 

Preparatory  to  the  attack  Colonel  Bloor  had 
arranged  for  transportation  to  bring  up  the  Stokes 
mortars  and  37  Millimeter  guns  from  the  point 
where  they  had  been  left  near  Suippes.  These  had 
been  distributed  in  the  line  and  were  for  service  in 
the  attack.     Conditions  as  to  information  received 


St.  Etienne  99 

by  both  assaulting  regiments  were  about  the  same. 
The  front  lines  were  practically  parallel  and  it 
took  as  much  time  to  get  the  information  to  one 
as  to  the  other.  Inaugurating  its  assault  the  left 
of  the  142d  Infantry  line  would  debouch  into  the 
open  with  Companies  E,  F,  G,  and  H,  in  the  two 
assaulting  waves.  The  right  of  these  companies 
were  facing  a  small  patch  of  irregular  pines  on 
Hill  140,  or  what  became  known  later  as  Barton's 
Hill.  Practically  all  the  front  of  the  141st  In- 
fantry composed  of  Companies  A,  B,  C,  and  D,  was 
facing  similar  woods,  which  had  to  be  penetrated 
before  the  assaulting  troops  would  debouch  into  the 
open  for  the  second  phase  of  the  attack,  against 
the  heights  beyond  St.  Etienne  and  the  Arnes  rivu- 
let. Those  company  commanders  who  had  been 
warned  that  an  attack  might  begin  the  morning 
of  October  8,  waited  in  vain  for  any  intimation  of 
it  the  evening  of  the  seventh.  In  the  cold  drizzle 
that  made  the  atmosphere  heavy  and  depressing 
and  which  seemed  to  accentuate  the  crash  of  the 
bursting  shells  in  the  pines,  they  waited  as  patient- 
ly as  they  could  and  prepared  their  commands 
with  what  instructions  they  could  give.  Several 
men  had  been  wounded  by  the  shell  fire  during 
the  afternoon  and  evening  and  there  was  a  grow- 
ing restlessness  to  be  doing  something. 

"OVER   THE  TOP" 

As  the  first  gray  of  dawn  began  to  appear 
through  the  pine  tops,  runners  scurried  here  and 
there  through  the  brush  to  all  parts  of  the  line 
summoning  company  commanders  to  the  battalion 


100 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


St.  Etienne  101 

command  posts.  Practically  at  the  same  time  the 
batteries  in  the  rear  began  to  thunder  their  first 
barrage.  It  was  time  for  the  troops  to  be  under 
way.  Hurried  instructions,  all  too  brief,  all  too  in- 
definite were  flung  at  company  commanders  and 
these  hurried  back  to  their  commands  to  state  as 
briefly  as  possible  to  their  platoon  leaders  what 
they  had  learned  at  the  battalion  command  post. 
Before  this  could  be  accomplished  it  was  time  for 
the  barrage  to  move  on  and  for  the  troops  to  be 
pressing  forward.  Before  the  company  command- 
ers could  get  back  to  their  commands  the  shells 
from  the  enemy  batteries  were  beginning  to  fall 
thick  and  fast  in  the  trees,  a  barrage  that  was  in- 
tended to  block  off  the  supporting  waves  from  the 
front,  so  that  they  could  not  assist  in  the  advance. 
In  the  front  lines  rapidly  the  word  of  instruc- 
tion was  passed  from  captains  to  lieutenants,  and 
from  lieutenants  to  non-commissioned  officers  and 
privates.  In  the  din  of  the  barrage  bursting  well 
beyond  in  the  open,  words  of  command  were 
drowned  but  first  one  man  here  and  there  and  then 
all  rose  from  the  places  where  they  had  burrowed  in 
the  chalky  soil  and  moved  steadily  forward.  Some- 
what dazed  by  the  newness  of  it  all,  uncertain  as 
just  what  task  they  had  to  perform,  handicapped  by 
the  lack  of  complete  instruction,  yet  they  never 
faltered.  Sure  and  confident  that  they  could  meet 
and  master  any  foe,  unafraid  of  any  death  that 
might  await  them,  gloriously  they  went  forward  in 
a  manner  that  might  do  credit  to  the  best  trained 
troops  in  the  world.  For  a  few  moments  they  were 
an  organized  whole,  moving  as  if  in  practice  ma- 
neuver.     Then   they   encountered   the    wire.      They 


102  'The  Story  of  the  36th 

had  not  been  able  to  take  full  advantage  of  the 
barrage  where  this  was  properly  laid.  Some  were 
a  little  late  in  starting  because  the  word  had  not 
reached  them.  Picking  their  way  through  the 
strands  of  wire  that  had  been  cut  here  and  there 
they  were  met  by  a  perfect  hail  of  machine  gun 
and  rifle  bullets.  Trained  through  the  months  for 
just  this  kind  of  emergency,  promptly  they  sought 
cover  wherever  available  on  the  'ground  and  then 
took  up  a  series  of  isolated  fights  for  the  capture 
of  this  or  that  position  from  which  the  enemy  had 
opened  fire. 

Ensconced  behind  trees  before  the  141st  and 
well  camouflaged  in  positions  between  the  142d 
and  St.  Etienne,  in  many  instances  the  "boche" 
machine  gunners  had  not  come  under  the  Ameri- 
can barrage.  This  had  been  laid  beyond  them. 
The  information  that  told  of  the  occupation  of  the 
village  had  caused  the  artillery  to  lay  their  fire 
down  beyond  this.  Actually  between  the  first  line 
troops  and  the  village  was  one  of  the  strongest 
positions  held  by  the  Germans.  All  the  "boche" 
gunners  had  to  do  was  to  lay  their  sights  and  wait 
for  the  men  of  the  Thirty-sixth  to  reach  the  wire. 

THE   ASSAULT    OF   THE    141st   INFANTRY. 

Short  and  irregular  ravines,  which  were  over- 
grown with  scrub  pine  thickets  and  some  under- 
brush and  which  afforded  every  opportunity  for 
laying  machine  guns  so  that  the  enemy  would  have 
every  advantage,  featured  the  terrain  over  which 
the  141st  Infantry  was  called  upon  to  advance. 
The  front  line  of  this  regiment  followed  generally 


St.  Etienne  103 

the  road  from  St.  Etienne  to  Orfeuil  being  slightly 
north  of  this  road  at  the  left  of  the  regimental 
sector  but  dropping  away  to  the  southeast  until  it 
was  considerably  south  of  the  road  in  the  center 
and  on  the  right  flank.  It  was  a  poorly  consoli- 
dated line,  large  gaps  existing  between  the  posi- 
tions in  front  of  the  road  on  the  left  and  the  posi- 
tions occupied  by  the  troops  in  the  center. 

To  overcome  these  conditions  the  troops  of 
the  assaulting  as  well  as  the  supporting  battalion 
had  considerable  difficulty.  Major  Edwin  G. 
Hutchings.  commanding  the  First  Battalion,  in  the 
assault  position,  assembled  his  company  command- 
ers a  short  time  after  midnight,  the  morning  of 
October  8,  and  gave  them  detailed  instructions  as 
to  the  disposition  of  their  troops  in  the  attack.  All 
companies  were  represented  at  this  conference  with 
the  exception  of  Company  A,  whose  commander 
on  the  extreme  right  of  the  sector  had  not  been 
located  by  the  runners  sent  to  summon  him  to  the 
battalion  command  posts.  It  afterward  developed 
that  one  of  the  runners  was  killed  in  attempting  to 
carry  the  message  to  the  company  and  others  lost 
their  way  in  the  darkness.  Instructions  were  given 
at  similar  conferences  held  by  Major  Hawkins  of 
the  Second  Battalion  and  Major  Benjamin  F. 
Wright  of  the  Third  Battalion,  in  the  support  and 
reserve   positions  respectively. 

The  only  thing  that  the  battalion  command- 
ers had  not  been  able  to  tell  their  officers  was  the 
exact  hour  at  which  the  barrage  would  commence 
and  the  assault  get  under  way.  This  word  was 
received  shortly  after  5  o'clock  or  only  a  few  min- 
utes  before   the    firing    began,    but    it    was    passed 


104  The  Story  of  the  36th 

hurriedly  to  the  companies  in  time  for  them  to  get 
set  for  the  start  with  but  little  confusion.  Company 
A  was  the  only  exception  and  the  commander  of 
that  organization,  taking  his  cue  from  the  move- 
ment of  the  other  companies,  began  to  advance 
only  a  few  moments  later.  A  short  time  before 
the  time  for  the  assault  to  begin,  Company  B  of 
the  132d  Machine  Gun  Battalion,  formed  to  ac- 
company and  support  the  assault  echelons  of  the 
First  Battalion.  Company  A  of  the  132d  Machine 
Gun  Battalion  was  assigned  for  duty  to  the  sup- 
porting battalion  and  the  regimental  machine  gun 
company  was  with  the  reserve. 

Hardly  had  the  drumming  regularity  of  the 
American  and  French  barrage  been  fairly  well 
launched  before  the  enemy  batteries  began  to  re- 
taliate into  the  ranks  of  the  regiment  formed  for 
the  assault,  as  well  as  among  the  ranks  of  the 
supporting  battalion  several  hundred  yards  to  the 
rear.  For  the  first  few  minutes  of  the  advance 
the  men  of  the  141st  found  little  difficulty  in  mak- 
ing their  way  forward  in  the  center  but  no  sooner 
had  they  appeared  across  the  St  Etienne-Orfeuil 
road  than  they  came  under  machine  gun  and  rifle 
fire  in  such  volume  that  they  were  staggered  and 
took  cover.  On  the  left  the  units  already  across 
the  road  met  instant  resistance  when  they  started 
to  advance.  The  men  of  Company  A  also  met 
early  resistance  on  the  nght.  In  spite  of  the  gall- 
ing fire  of  the  enemy  artillery  and  the  deadly 
accurate  firing  of  the  Maxims  here  and  there  small 
groups  or  individuals  worked  themselves  forward 
for  a  short  distance  and  closed  with  the  enemy  ma- 
chine   gunners.      Th^s    was    slow    work    and    costly. 


St.  Etienne  105 

Having  advantage  of  a  complete  knowledge  of 
the  ground  as  v^^ell  as  concealment  the  German 
snipers  and  machine  gunners  manned  their  guns 
skilfully.  Those  machine  guns  which  were  cap- 
tured only  opened  the  way  for  others  to  begin 
firing.  In  a  short  space  of  time  all  liaison  between 
units  of  the  assaulting  companies  had  been  broken 
up.  Many  officers  had  been  put  out  of  the  fight 
by  wounds  and  several  killed.  Platoons  broke  up 
into  small  groups  and  then  became  intermingled 
as  the  men  fought  for  themselves. 

In  order  to  give  strength  to  the  assault  Major 
Hutchings  had  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  Com- 
pany C,  after  sending  the  company  commander 
with  a  part  of  his  force  to  lead  the  attack  else- 
where. Hardly  had  he  started  forward  with  this 
company  than  the  battalion  headquarters  group 
with  the  battalion  commander  leading  came  within 
the  range  of  a  high  explosive  shell.  Major  Hutch- 
ings was  killed  instantly,  several  of  his  runners 
were  severely  wounded  and  direction  of  the  at- 
tack was  lost  completely.  Here  and  there  offi- 
cers with  small  groups  of  men  working  forward, 
strengthened  themselves  in  their  positions  and  held 
on.  By  the  most  dogged  kind  of  work  they  dis- 
lodged the  enemy  machine  guns  here  and  there  but 
failed  to  drive  the  gunners  from  their  vantage 
places  farther  forward,  with  the  result  that  the  ad- 
vance was  halted. 

Troops  of  the  supporting  battalion  coming  up 
from  the  rear  only  served  to  make  the  line  denser 
and  increase  the  number  of  casualties.  These  men 
of  the  Second  Battalion  rendered  able  assistance 
in  dislodging  some  of  the  Germans  from  their  po- 


106 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


a 


H 


St.   Etienne  107 

sitions  but  they  also  had  been  thrown  into  confus- 
ion in  starting  the  attack.  In  the  excitement  that 
followed  the  beginning  of  the  barrage  and  the 
rain  of  enemy  shells  the  battalion  commander  had 
lost  control  of  the  situation.  This  was  largely 
through  his  determination  to  swap  the  positions 
of  his  two  flank  companies.  The  left  company  had 
been  ordered  to  take  position  on  the  right  and  the 
right  company  to  take  position  on  the  left.  Later 
the  battalion  commander  left  the  field  and  although 
some  of  the  companies  were  completely  confused 
they  made  their  way  to  the  line  and  joined  the  as- 
saulting waves. 

The  Third  Battalion  also  became  identified 
with  the  assault  battalion  before  the  morning  had 
grown  into  the  afternoon.  But  the  addition  of 
these  men  to  the  line  failed  to  continue  the  ad- 
vance. Major  Wright  commanding  the  reserve  bat- 
talion had  been  wounded  severely,  and  was  evac- 
uated before  he  had  time  to  effectively  place  his 
battalion  in  the  line.  He  later  died  of  his  wounds. 
This  left  the  entire  regiment  without  majors  to 
take  charge  of  the  various  units,  which  in  many 
instances  were  under  non-commissioned  officers. 
Some  of  the  companies  had  all  of  their  officers 
killed  or  wounded. 

In  this  emergency  Colonel  Jackson,  command- 
ing the  regiment,  went  to  the  line  in  person  and 
directed  the  attack  as  best  he  could.  Apparently 
the  situation  could  not  be  improved.  The  advance 
had  been  slight,  especially  on  the  left  and  the 
slaughter  had  been  terrible.  In  the  trees  and  un- 
derbrush it  was  practically  impossible  to  co-ordi- 
nate the  many  separate  little  groups  of  men  for  any 


108  The  Story  of  the  36th 

concerted  movement.  With  seasoned  troops  this 
condition  might  have  righted  itself  but  with  men 
Who  were  in  the  firing  line  for  the  first  time  it  was 
a  superhuman  task.  In  some  places  the  assaulting 
elements  retired  to  their  original  line  and  remained 
there.  Others,  notably  a  detachment  on  the  ex- 
treme left  remained  in  the  advanced  position  it  had 
gained  and  held  its  ground  despite  threatened 
counter  attacks  from  the  enemy  in  the  late  after- 
noon. The  automatic  riflemen  and  machine  gun- 
ners laid  their  weapons  in  such  fashion  that  the 
one  counter  attack  which  developed  was  repelled 
immediately  before  it  could  hardly  get  started. 

Some  of  the  units  coming  up  from  the  rear 
had  wandered  to  the  left  and  entered  the  sector 
of  the  142d  Infantry,  where  a  few  of  the  men  be- 
came identified  with  the  ranks  of  that  regiment, 
but  the  greater  part  found  their  way  back  to  the 
141st  during  the  afternoon.  Toward  noon  the 
enemy  repeatedly  sent  his  airplanes  over  the  line 
and  obtained  observation  that  enabled  his  artil- 
lery to  register  with  deadly  effect  while  there  was 
no  apparent  effort  of  the  Allied  planes  to  retaliate. 
In  addition  to  directing  the  artillery  fire  the  "boche" 
airmen  swooped  down  over  the  141st  lines  and 
poured  bursts  of  machine  gun  fire  at  the  men 
among  the  trees.  The  number  of  casualties  from 
this  was  not  large  but  it  served  materially  to  halt 
the  efforts  to  advance  the  line  farther. 

At  the  close  of  the  day  the  front  line  con- 
tinued to  follow  in  a  general  way  the  outline  of 
the  St.  Etienne-Orfeuil  road.  Most  of  the  assault- 
ing elements  were  north  of  the  road  but  not  suffi- 
ciently advanced  to  dislodge  the  machine  gun  posi- 


St.  Etienne  109 

tions  of  the  enemy,  which  were  registering  on  the 
troops  advancing  in  the  left  half  of  the  brigade 
sector.  Two  detachments  of  the  regiment  had 
pushed  so  far  in  advance  of  their  supporting  troops 
that  they  were  threatened  with  being  cut  off  but 
they  were  not  in  positions  where  they  could  bring 
their  fire  to  bear  on  the  marching,  gunners,  who 
were  holding  up  the  attack  on  the  left  flank.  In 
the  first  darkness  of  the  night  efforts  at  reorganiz- 
ing the  line  were  begun  and  as  many  as  possible 
of  the  positions  were  consolidated,  or  connected 
together.  Few  efforts  were  made  to  re-establish 
companies  as  originally  organized,  but  here  and 
there  detachments  were  grouped  into  provisional 
organizations  and  placed  under  an  officer. 

The  regiment  had  suffered  heavily  among  the 
officers.  Besides  Majors  Hutchings  and  Wright, 
five  other  officers  had  been  killed  outright.  In  the 
First  Battalion,  First  Lieutenant  Graham  B.  Luhn 
had  fallen  while  leading  a  portion  of  Company  D. 
Other  officers  of  this  battalion  had  been  wounded 
severely  and  sent  to  the  rear,  but  this  was  the  only 
death. 

In  the  Second  Battalion.  First  Lieutenant  Clyde 
T.  Morrison  had  been  brought  down  while  in  the 
very  front  of  the  fight.  He  had  advanced  with  his 
men  well  into  the  woods,  giving  a  splendid  example 
of  courage,   when   he  had  been  mortally  wounded. 

The  heaviest  casualties  apparently  were  in 
the  Third  Battalion,  the  last  to  get  into  the  assault 
waves  but  which  suffered  the  loss  of  Second  Lieu- 
tenants Aubrey  W.  Cox  and  L.  C.  Alcorn  of  Com- 
pany K,  Second  Lieutenant  John  C.  McKinney  of 
Company    L,    and    Second    Lieutenant    Joseph    M. 


110 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


St.  Etienne  111 

Burchill  of  Company  M.  The  death  of  these  offi- 
cers, each  of  whom  had  been  a  platoon  command- 
er, made  reorganization  difficult  in  the  extreme. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  assault  the  strength  of  the 
regiment  had  been  approximately  2,560  officers 
and  men.  Of  this  number  seven  officers  and  187 
enlisted  men  had  been  killed.  Eighteen  officers 
and  348  enlisted  men  had  been  wounded.  Addi- 
tional officers  and  enlisted  men  had  been  reported 
missing  in  action  and  gassed  sufficient  to  bring  the 
total  casualty  list  to  thirty  officers  and  607  enlist- 
ed men. 

In  considering  the  losses  that  occurred  among 
the  officers  and  men  of  the  Seventy-first  Infantry 
Brigade  in  its  attack  on  St.  Etienne-a-Arnes,  it  is 
noted  with  increasing  interest  that  regiments  en- 
gaging in  every  major  operation  participated  in  by 
American  troops,  including  the  assault  at  Canti- 
gny,  the  terrible  fighting  in  the  drive  south  of  Sois- 
sons  in  July,  1918,  in  the  St.  Mihiel  operation  and 
in  those  desperate  struggles  that  took  place  in  the 
Argonne  between  the  Meuse  and  the  Aisne  rivers, 
lost  only  about  thirty  officers  killed  and  in  many 
of  the  companies  lost  less  in  killed  on  the  battle 
field  than  was  lost  by  many  of  the  companies  of 
the  Seventy-first  Brigade  in  the  three  days  before 
St.  Etienne. 

THE  ATTACK  OF  THE  142d  INFANTRY. 

Conferences  and  detailed  plans  for  the  ad- 
vance in  the  sector  of  the  142d  Infantry  had  been 
rendered  impossible  by  the  delayed  arrival  of  the 
battalion  commanders.     These  had  a  much  longer 


112  The  Story  of  the  36th 

distance  to  travel  from  the  regimental  command 
post  to  their  own  headquarters  than  had  been  the 
case  with  the  141st  Infantry  and  Colonel  Bloor 
had  been  delayed  in  receiving  his  instructions.  In 
the  Second  Battalion,  selected  as  the  assault  Bat- 
talion and  commanded  by  Major  William  J.  Mor- 
rissey,  the  company  commanders  had  been  sum- 
moned to  assemble  at  the  battalion  command  post 
by  means  of  a  telephone  message  from  regimental 
headquarters.  This  message  had  directed  that  the 
captains  be  assembled  by  the  time  the  battalion 
commander  again  reached  his  dugout.  However, 
Major  Morrissey  was  not  able  to  return  over  the 
long  distance  from  the  command  post  of  the  regi- 
ment to  the  front  line  until  approximately  5 :20 
o'clock,  by  which  time  the  barrage  already  had 
been  under  way  several  minutes.  The  troops  had 
received  no  word  of  an  expected  attack  and  merely 
waited  in  their  positions  as  the  friendly  barrage 
developed  and  the  counter  barrage  from  the 
enemy's  batteries  began  to  fall  m  the  areas  be- 
hind them.  Similar  conditions  existed  in  the  First 
Battalion  in  the  support  position,  commanded  by 
Captain  Charles  Kuhlman,  as  well  as  in  the  Third 
Battalion,  under  the  command  of  Captain  A.  M. 
Greer,  and  which  was  in  the  regimental  reserve. 
In  the  Third  Battalion  however  the  instructions 
were  given  a  few  minutes  after  the  conference  at 
regimental  headquarters,  the  short  distance  enab- 
ling Captain  Greer  to  meet  his  officers  immediately 
and  to  outline  the  plan  for  the  assault  and  explain 
the  mission  of  his  troops.  In  the  First  Battalion 
the  officers  were  summoned  to  the  battalion  com- 
mand post  only  a  minute  before  the  first  guns  be- 


St.  Etienne  113 

gan  to  roar  their  defiance  at  the  enemy.  Gathering 
there  they  received  a  few  brief  words  of  instruction, 
to  the  effect  that  the  attack  was  to  be  launched  at 
5:15  o'clock  and  to  be  conducted  in  a  generally 
northern  direction.  All  were  enabled  to  glance  at  a 
map  but  none  had  an  opportunity  to  study  its  de- 
tails. They  were  informed  that  before  they  could 
return  to  their  commands  it  would  be  time  to  go 
and  they  scurried  away  without  further  parley. 

Under  the  circumstances  no  troops  in  the  world 
could  have  behaved  better.  As  soon  as  possible 
Major  Morrissey  had  sent  his  company  commanders 
back  to  their  companies  and  these  in  turn  had  de- 
livered their  instructions  to  their  subordinates.  By 
this  time  the  barrage  had  lifted  from  the  posi- 
tion on  which  it  had  been  falling  for  twenty  min- 
utes and  rolled  on.  The  most  advanced  posi- 
tions of  the  Germans  had  been  relieved  from  the 
crash  of  the  bursting  shell.  Realizing  this  the 
front  line  company  commanders  waited  for  the  one- 
pounder  sections  and  the  Stokes  mortar  platoon  to 
send  over  a  few  shells  to  disconcert  the  enemy 
and  then,  as  steadily  as  if  at  maneuvers  the  men 
rose  from  their  places  and  began  to  move  forward. 
By  this  time  the  enemy's  shells  were  falling  thick 
and  fast  in  the  entire  sector.  The  crash  of  the 
larger  shells  mingling  with  the  sharp  crack  of  the 
smaller  projectiles  made  a  deafening  roar.  Here 
and  there  men  were  being  hit  but  no  one  gave  heed. 

The  assault  battalion  had  been  arranged  with 
Companies  H  and  G  in  the  first  wave  and  Com- 
panies E  and  F  in  the  second  wave.  On  the  right 
of  the  sector  where  the  troops  jumped  off  from  a 
position  directly  on  top  of  Hill  140  they  came  un- 


114 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


St.  Etienne  11& 

der  fire  from  the  enemy  machine  guns  in  a  strong 
position  among  the  trees  on  the  northern  slope  of 
the  hill  before  they  had  advanced  fifty  paces.  To 
add  to  their  discomfort  they  also  were  caught  by 
flank  fire  from  the  right.  Taking  advantage  of 
the  cover  afi'orded  by  a  sunken  load  they  rushed 
forvv^ard  in  groups,  that  ran  and  fell  and  rose  to 
advance  again,  until  the  men  w^ere  flanking  the  po- 
sition on  two  sides.  In  this  part  of  the  assault  the 
captain  of  the  leading  company  was  among  the  first 
to  fall,  being  hit  by  two  machine  gun  bullets  a 
short  distance  in  front  of  the  jumping-off  position. 
Other  officers,  among  them  Captain  David  T.  Han- 
son, Medical  Corps,  and  First  Lieutenant  Richard 
Harrison,  Company  F,  were  killed  in  the  first  few 
minutes  after  the  attack  started.  Captain  Hanson, 
wearing  the  red  cross  insignia  of  his  service  was 
killed  instantly  while  seeking  to  take  care  of  some 
wounded  men.  He  had  gone  with  the  very  first 
elements  of  the  assault  far  in  advance  of  the  posi- 
tion required  of  him.  Lieutenant  Harrison  was 
killed  immediately  after  his  company  had  become 
merged  with  the  leading  company.  The  latter  had 
been  held  up  by  a  machine  gun  nest  on  the  north- 
ern slope  of  Hill  140.  These  as  well  as  other  offi- 
cers had  been  brought  down  before  they  had  a 
fair  chance  to  estimate  the  full  situation  and  give 
directions.  Company  F,  in  the  second  wave  soon 
became  intermingled  with  the  ranks  of  Company 
H  in  the  first  wave  and  the  command  was  assumed 
by  Captain  Willis  L.  Pearce,  in  command  of  the 
second  company. 

In  the   left  of  the  sector.   Company   G  in  the 
first  wave  and  Company  E  in  the  second  wave,  had 


116  The  Story  of  the  36th 

encountered  heavy  belts  of  wire  as  they  advanced 
against  the  village  of  St.  Etienne,  from  vv^hich  no 
resistance  had  been  expected.  Up  to  the  time  they 
reached  the  wire  they  met  little  resistance  but  in 
climbing  ov6r  the  low  strands  of  entanglements 
and  working  their  way  through  the  openings  here 
and  there,  these  men  literally  were  mowed  down 
by  fire  from  three  enemy  strong  points,  one  in  the 
cemetery  to  the  east  ^of  the  village,  one  in  a  de- 
pression directly  between  the  advancing  troops 
and  the  town,  and  one  in  a  camouflaged  position 
in  the  open  ground  to  the  southeast  of  St.  Etienne. 
These  positions  were  undisturbed  by  the  fire  of  the 
barrage  which  had  been  placed  beyond  them.  Here 
the  assault  was  completely  checked.  Members  of 
these  companies  naturally  worked  to  the  east  in  the 
vicinity  of  Hill  140,  in  their  efforts  to  advance, 
and  some  obtained  positions  of  vantage  behind  hil- 
locks and  the  trunks  of  trees  near  the  sunken  road 
leading  from  the  hill  toward  the  town. 

This  was  the  situation  when  the  companies 
of  the  First  Battalion  coming  up  in  support  behind 
overtook  the  assault  and  gave  it  impetus.  In  this 
battalion.  Companies  A  and  B  were  in  the  first 
wave  and  Companies  C  and  D  in  the  second  wave. 
Starting  from  their  positions  it  had  been  neces- 
sary for  them  to  pass  in  squad  columns,  or  single 
file,  through  the  trees  down  the  northern  slope  of 
Blanc  Mont  and  through  the  barrage  placed  by  the 
enemy's  batteries  to  cut  off  the  supporting  troops 
from  the  fight.  Advancing  several  hundred  yards 
in  this  manner  before  they  reached  the  jumping- 
off  position,  the  men  of  this  battalion  suffered  heavy 
casualties  from  shell  fire  and  lost  their  command- 


St.  Etie7ine  117 

ing  officer,  Captain  Kuhlman.  The  burst  of  a  shell 
wounded  half  of  the  battalion  headquarters  group, 
including  several  runners.  In  this  advance  the  men 
of  Company  D  failed  to  follow  the  wake  of  Com- 
pany B  and  wandered  into  the  French  sector  to  the 
left,  where  they  remained  through  the  balance  of 
the  day.  Captain  Kuhlman  had  been  so  severely 
wounded  that  it  was  feared  for  a  time  that  he 
would  not  recover  and  his  loss  did  not  become 
known  to  his  company  commanders  until  the  middle 
of  the  afternoon.  In  spite  of  this  however  the 
companies  continued  to  function  properly.  The 
volume  of  the  enemy's  fire  had  increased  as  the 
supporting  troops  were  seen  to  emerge  from  the 
woods  and,  as  they  debouched  still  farther  into  the 
open,  the  high  explosive  shells  were  mixed  with 
gas.  Resulting  from  this  were  many  gas  casual- 
ties later  in  the  day,  the  men  continuing  to  ad- 
vance at  the  time,  not  realizing  the  extent  of  the 
poison  in  their  lungs  and  throats. 

Continuing  the  advance  beyond  the  jumping- 
off  position  Company  A  struck  the  line  of  resist- 
ance just  to  the  north  of  Hill  140,  where  the  at- 
tack of  Companies  H  and  F  had  been  held  up,  while 
Company  B  encountered  the  same  wire  that  had  ob- 
structed the  path  of  Companies  E  and  G.  Com- 
pany C  followed  in  the  wake  of  Company  A.  In 
these  companies  grenades  had  been  distributed 
prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  assault  As  soon  as 
the  right  companies  had  arrived  before  the  ma- 
chine gun  nest  held  by  the  Germans  on  the  north- 
ern side  of  the  hill,  a  detachment  of  these  grenade 
men  worked  their  way  to  positions  of  vantage  as 
did   a  group  of  automatic  riflemen,  and  a   deadly 


118 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


o 


St.  Etienne  119 

concentration  of  fire  was  poured  into  the  position. 
These  efforts,  combined  with  those  of  the  other 
two  companies,  that  already  had  flanked  the  posi- 
tion on  two  sides,  soon  brought  about  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  stronghold. 

Out  of  their  dugouts  and  fi  om  behind  the 
rocks  and  scrub  trees  where  they  had  sought  refuge, 
more  than  100  Germans  with  their  hands  above 
their  heads,  crept  whimpering  toward  their  cap- 
tors. Some  cried  the  well-known  surrender  cry  of 
"kamerad"  while  others  apparently  could  make 
no  other  sound  than  that  similar  to  the  whine  of  a 
whipped  cur.  Officers  and  men  stood  ready  with 
pistols  and  bayonets  to  cut  short  the  slightest  move 
toward  treachery.  The  prisoners  were  herded  to 
the  rear  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Marines, 
who  were  holding  their  positions  until  the  success 
of  the  advance  could  be  assured.  With  the  machine 
gun  nest  overcome  the  troops  pushed  on  toward 
the  Arnes  to  the  east  of  the  village. 

On  the  left  the  men  of  Company  B  had  en- 
countered fire  equally  as  severe  as  that  which  had 
greeted  the  first  two  companies.  Unmindful  of 
this,  however,  they  had  continued  to  work  their 
way  forward  in  the  depressions  of  the  ground.  Cap- 
tain Wilmot  Whitney,  commanding  the  company, 
was  wounded  but  continued  to  advance  with  his 
men.  First  Lieutenant  Arthur  J.  Matheny,  second 
in  command  was  killed  instantly  just  after  he  had 
crossed  the  last  belt  of  wire.  A  short  time  later 
Second  Lieutenant  Thomas  F.  Collins  was  killed  by 
the  burst  of  a  shell  and  before  long  every  officer 
in  the  company  had  been  sent  to  the  rear  with 
wounds.     Assisted  by  the  men  of  Company  B  the 


120  The  Story  of  the  36th 

other  two  companies  continued  to  press  the  at- 
tack and  in  a  short  time  also  were  helped  by  the 
troops  of  the  Third  Battalion,  who  had  come  for- 
ward to  join  in  the  assault  instead  of  waiting  in  the 
reserve.  The  combined  efforts  of  these  forces  and 
the  fact  that  the  position  on  the  right  had  been 
overcome  soon  brought  about  the  reduction  of  the 
strong  points  south  and  southeast  of  the  village. 
Here  more  than  100  prisoners  also  were  captured, 
also  many  machine  guns  and  automatic  pistols.  But 
the  cost  had  been  heavy.  More  than  thirty  men  in 
Company  B  had  been  killed  and  more  than  fifty 
wounded.  Other  companies  had  suffered  almost 
as  severely  but  they  continued  to  press  forward. 

The  fighting  around  these  two  positions  last- 
ed more  than  two  hours  and  at  the  end  only  a  few 
elements  of  the  three  battalions  had  been  held  out 
of  the  attack  as  supporting  troops.  Practically  the 
entire  Third  Battalion  was  in  the  line  as  well  as 
the  First  Battalion.  These  combined  forces  swept 
onward  toward  the  Arnes  and  the  outskirts  of  the 
village.  In  the  latter  phases  of  the  attack  against 
the  positions  southeast  of  the  town,  able  assistance 
had  been  rendered  by  Companies  C  and  D  of  the 
132d  Machine  Gun  Battalion.  These  had  been 
assigned  respectively  to  the  assault  and  support 
battalions.  These  had  placed  their  guns  in  posi- 
tion on  the  hill  and  had  poured  a  volume  of  fire 
upon  the  enemy  positions  that  rendered  them  un- 
tenable. As  the  advance  then  continued  across 
the  undulating  ground  to  the  east  of  St.  Etienne 
and  the  troops  came  under  the  heavy  fire  from  the 
position  in  the  cemetery,  the  machine  gunners  again 
rendered    able    service    by    increasing    their    range 


St.  Etienne  121 

and  pouring  a  steady  stream  of  bullets  into  the  Hun 
defenses.  In  this  and  the  subsequent  defensive 
work  the  machine  gun  company  of  the  142d  In- 
fantry also  played  a  conspicuous  part. 

All  of  this  time  the  long  range  fire  of  the 
German  machine  guns  on  the  slopes  to  the  north 
of  the  village  had  been  steady.  Time  after  time 
these  would  sweep  the  little  plain  but  without  ap- 
parently affecting  the  onward  rush  of  the  assault- 
ing troops.  A  machine  gun  placed  in  the  steeple 
of  the  church  in  St.  Etienne,  was  causing  consider- 
able damage  in  the  ranks  of  the  advancing  bat- 
talions until  a  well-placed  shot  from  one  of  the 
37  millimeter  rifles  caused  the  German  machine 
gunner  to  tumble  from  his  perch.  This  machine 
gun  had  been  able  to  cover  the  entire  area  of  open 
ground  over  which  the  support  and  reserve  bat- 
talions had  been  compelled  to  advance  after  leav- 
ing the  woods  in  the   earlier  phase   of  the   attack. 

With  this  gun  out  of  action  and  the  positions 
in  the  cemetery  under  the  direct  fire  of  the  Ameri- 
can machine  guns,  the  infantrymen  closed  in  on 
the  Germans  in  the  graveyard.  Part  of  the  assault- 
ing troops  made  their  way  through  the  edge  of  the 
village  and  took  the  Germans  in  the  flank  while 
others  rushed  the  cemetery  from  the  front.  Here 
the  struggle  assumed  hand-to-hand  proportions  be- 
fore the  cry  of  "kamerad"  again  sounded  and  ad- 
ditional prisoners  were  sent  to  the  rear.  As  these 
prisoners  passed  over  the  plain  to  the  east  of  the 
village  the  German  artillery  as  well  as  the  long 
range  machine  guns  on  the  slopes  to  the  north  of 
the  little  stream  and  the  village  began,  to  register 
among  the  prisoners,  causing  heavy  casualties  and 


122 


The  Storji  of  the  36th 


St.  Etienne  123 

many  deaths.  Some  of  the  prisoners  were  bearing 
wounded  to  the  rear  when  they  were  killed  by 
the  bursts  of  Austrian  88s,  German  77s  and  155s. 

As  they  advanced  across  the  open  ground  to 
the  right  of  the  cemetery,  the  attacking  troops 
once  more  came  under  heavy  barrage  fire  from  the 
enemy  artillery.  In  moving  forward  from  the  cap- 
tured position  on  Hill  140,  Captain  Willis  Pearce, 
who  had  been  in  command  of  the  two  companies 
around  the  first  position,  was  killed.  Here  and 
there  along  the  banks  of  the  Arnes  the  men  dug  in 
and  strengthened  their  position  as  best  they  could. 
Automatic  rifles  were  placed  where  they  could  best 
be  brought  to  bear  on  the  enemy  and  patrols  were 
pushed  out  across  the  creek  to  locate  the  positions 
of  the  Germans  on  the  slopes  ahead.  These  pa- 
trols drew  such  heavy  fire  that  they  contented 
themselves  with  digging  in  along  the  Arnes  and 
waiting  for  the  better  organization  of  the  lines. 
While  actively  engaged  in  this  reorganization,  Cap- 
tain Carter  C.  Hanner,  commanding  Company  E, 
and  who  had  been  in  the  front  of  the  battle  since 
the  early  morning,  was  fatally  wounded  by  machine 
gun  fire.  He  was  carried  into  an  abandoned  Ger- 
man dugout  and  given  first  aid  treatment  but  ex- 
pired within  a  short  time. 

In  the  fighting  before  the  village  when  the 
Third  Battalion  became  merged  with  the  assault- 
ing echelons,  two  other  officers  had  been  listed 
among  the  killed.  The  first  of  these,  First  Lieu- 
tenant Alfred  N.  Carrigan  jr.,  was  killed  instant- 
ly while  leading  his  company  toward  a  position 
where  it  could  take  the  position  in  a  flank  move- 
ment.   A  short  time  later  Second  Lieutenant  George 


124  The  Story  of  the  36th 

Goebel  of  Company  M,  was  killed  by  a  bursting 
shell.  This  completed  a  toll  of  eight  officers  killed 
before  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  Companies  B 
and  H  having  no  officers  remaining  to  command 
those  organizations. 

The  advance  to  the  little  creek  had  been  ac- 
complished by  the  early  afternoon.  From  the  time 
the  troops  reached  the  stream  they  were  under  an 
intense  bombardment  by  the  enemy.  The  water 
supply  was  getting  low  and  the  ammunition  be- 
coming scarce.  The  wounded  occupied  the  atten- 
tion of  those  able  to  dress  their  wounds  and  place 
them  in  positions  where  they  would  be  sheltered 
from  the  fire  as  much  as  possible.  Everyone  was 
too  busy  to  establish  liaison  to  the  right  where  the 
141st  Infantry  had  been  expected  to  advance  and 
nothing  was  known  of  those  troops.  The  combat 
liaison  platoon  of  the  regiment  had  become  lost  in 
the  attack  and  had  joined  the  ranks  of  those  in  the 
assaulting  waves.  In  the  late  afternoon  the 
enemy's  fire  reached  the  proportions  of  a  barrage 
and,  from  the  sector  where  it  was  expected  the 
141st  would  be  on  the  right,  the  Germans  appeared 
in  assault  formation.  It  was  a  counter-attack 
against  the  right  flank  and  came  with  an  unexpect- 
edness that  would  have  staggered  the  most  veteran 
troops.  Here  and  there  men  turned  to  the  rear, 
but  others  dropped  coolly  into  shell  holes  and  be- 
gan firing  their  rifles  and  automatic  rifles.  Grad- 
ually the  line  swept  back  toward  Hill  140  while 
the  left  remained  stationary  at  the  village.  In  the 
gathering  dusk  some  of  the  most  advanced  posi- 
tions held  by  individuals  here  and  there  fell  into 
the   enemy's   hands   but   the    greater    part    of   the 


St.   Etienne  125 

ground  gained  in  the  morning  remained  in  Ameri- 
can hands. 

Men  cut  off  in  the  counter  attack  had  many 
interesting  things  to  relate  about  their  experiences 
in  the  enemy's  prison  camps  as  well  as  the  manner 
in  which  they  were  captured.  One  of  these,  Pri- 
vate John  H.  Martin,  Company  A,  142d  Infantry, 
had  been  surrounded  as  he  lay  in  a  shell  hole  fir- 
ing his  rifle.  His  ammunition  gone  there  was 
nothing  to  do  but  surrender.  In  telling  of  his  ex- 
periences he  said : 

"I  had  seen  one  of  our  fellows  take  fifty  dutch- 
men  to  the  rear  and  I  thought  maybe  one  'kraut' 
might  try  to  take  me  back  toward  Germany  with 
him.  I  knew  if  that  happened  he  would  just  be 
out  of  luck  with  all  the  trees  scattered  around. 
But  there  wasn't  a  chance.  Another  prisoner  out 
of  Company  I  was  put  with  me  and  four  Heinies 
started  out  with  us.  Two  were  in  front  and  two 
behind  and  they  had  their  guns  pointed  at  us  every 
minute. 

"After  we  started  to  go  back  the  American 
artillery  began  to  put  over  a  barrage  and  I  am 
here  to  state  that  the  German  barrage  is  bad  but 
it  isn't  anything  compared  to  the  ones  we  put  over. 
I  just  about  had  it  figured  out  that  we  weren't 
going  to  get  through  alive.  The  two  dutchmen  in 
front  took  out  and  the  two  behind  began  to  prod 
us  with  their  bayonets  and  tell  us  to  run,  but  there 
wasn't  anything  stirrin'  and  I  told  one  of  them  if 
he  wanted  to  run  to  take  out  and  I  would  manage 
to  get  along  all  right." 

Private  Joseph  Krepps  of  Company  A,  was  an- 
other of  the  men  who  held  their  ground  until  they 


126 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


Grave    of    Commander    of    IStli    Infantry    Division 
Boche  Forces,  St.  Etienne. 


St.  Etienne  127 

were  cut  off  by  the  German  counter  attack.  But  it 
was  not  until  2  o'clock  in  the  morning  that  he  final- 
ly was  captured.  Time  after  time  he  evaded  the 
enemy  behind  the  German  lines  only  to  come  in 
contact  with  a  whole  company  about  2  o'clock 
and  fall  into  their  hands  before  he  realized  his 
position. 

Among  these  men  who  were  cut  off  and  cap- 
tured was  Sergeant  Norman  Duff,  who  probably 
had  the  most  interesting  experiences  of  all  the 
men  taken  in  the  counter  attack. 

"I  didn't  feel  so  bad  about  it  when  I  finally 
got  back  to  the  German  rear  and  found  about 
twenty  marines  back  there,"  he  declared,  "but 
when  they  got  me  that  afternoon  I  never  felt  so 
foolish  in  all  my  life. 

"I  had  ducked  into  a  Dutch  dugout  to  escape 
ihe  shell  fire  in  the  barrage  preceding  the  counter 
attack  and  when  I  started  out  they  were  pumping 
machine  gun  bullets  against  the  entrance  so  fast 
I  thought  to  myself  that  I  was  hardly  fast  enough 
on  my  feet  to  dodge  all  of  them.  Finally  these  let 
up  and  out  I  popped  but  no  sooner  than  the  bul- 
lets again  began  to  scratch  around  for  my  feet  and 
I  landed  in  a  shell  hole.  By  that  time  it  was  get- 
ting dark  and  I  figured  I'd  just  lie  there  until  a 
little  later  and  then  make  my  way  back  to  the 
company. 

"Well,  about  that  time  I  heard  several  men 
coming  from  the  direction  of  our  lines  and  at  first 
I  wasn't  just  sure  who  they  might  be.  Then  I 
heard  their  voices  and  I  knew  they  were  neither 
Americans  nor  Frogs.  So  I  just  lay  low  in  that 
hole  and  waited  for  them  to   pass.     They  passed 


128  The  Story  of  the  36th 

all  right  but  I  guess  I  was  too  impatient.  I  thought 
they  had  gone  but  when  I  put  up  my  head  to  take 
a  look  I  was  staring  straight  at  a  kraut  who  ex- 
claimed, 'Ah,  Amerikanner!'  I  didn't  say  any- 
thing because  I  was  too  full  of  thinking  what  a 
nut  I'd  been  to  look  up  or  move  at  all.  They  were 
too  many  for  me  and  there  wasn't  anything  to  it 
but  to  lay  down  my  rifle  like  he  told  me  and  play 
the  obedient. 

"They  took  me  back  to  the  man  who  was  act- 
ing as  an  intelligence  officer  and  his  first  question 
after  he  learned  my  name  surprised  me  some.  'Are 
you  out  of  the  One  Hundred  Forty-second  or  One 
Hundred  Forty-first  Infantry?'  he  says.  I  didn't 
see  any  use  in  telling  a  lie  there  so  I  told  him  the 
truth.  But  when  he  asked  his  next  question  I  had 
some  fun. 

"  'What  formation  are  you  using  in  attack?' 
he  says. 

"I  didn't  exactly  know  the  correct  answer  to 
that  one  myself  but  I  said :  'We  are  not  using 
much  of  any  certain  formation  in  this  attack  but 
there  are  four  other  divisions  behind  ours  getting 
ready  to  come  through  here  behind  our  brigade 
and  they  are  due  most  any  minute.'  As  far  as  I 
knew  that  was  true  and  he  didn't  seem  to  know 
any  better  himself. 

"The  next  day  they  took  us  through  the  town 
of  Attigny  where  we  saw  a  lot  of  Russian  prisoners 
at  work  digging  under  the  bridge  which  they  tell 
me  was  blown  up  later  so  our  fellows  could  not 
chase  the  Dutch  across  the  river. 

"All  of  the  huns  I  talked  to  told  me  that  if 
we  would  just  be  patient  a  little  while  they  would 


St.  Etienne  129 

be  hiking  out  of  France  and  leave  it  to  us.  That 
seemed  to  them  to  be  a  much  better  plan  than 
fighting  for  it  and  causing  so  many  men  to  get 
killed. 

"They  were  trying  to  move  everything  toward 
the  rear  as  we  went  back.  There  were  hardly  any 
horses  to  be  seen  and  instead  they  had  Jerry  sol- 
diers hitched  to  wagons.  They  did  not  try  to  make 
us  haul  any  of  these  and  they  v.ould  have  been 
out  of  luck  if  they  had  made  the  effort.  One  of 
the  Jerries  who  had  been  shot  through  the  ankle 
tried  to  keep  his  hand  on  my  shoulder  to  help 
himself  along  but  I  couldn't  see  that  at  all  so  he 
remarked  that  I  was  no  good. 

"We  were  taken  to  Rastatt,  in  the  'Black  For- 
est of  Baden,'  where  all  of  the  American  pris- 
oners were  kept  and  remained  there  until  after  the 
armistice  was  signed.  After  we  got  there  we  were 
given  food  sent  through  by  the  American  Red 
Cross  and  finally  this  organization  took  us  back  to 
France  through  Switzerland." 

In  the  village  the  troops  had  placed  them- 
selves in  strong  positions.  A  detachment  of  Ma- 
rines had  assisted  in  establishing  a  line  in  front  of 
the  village  and  a  detachment  of  Second  Engineers 
and  Marine  machine  gunners  had  been  placed 
in  the  cemetery  to  assist  in  holding  the  line  in  the 
event  of  further  counter-attacks.  Patrols  be- 
yond the  village  to  the  north  soon  discovered  the 
enemy  in  a  strongly  fortified  system  of  trenches 
behind  barbed  wire  entanglements.  This  system  was 
not  large  but  was  complete  and  would  offer  strong 
resistance. 


130  The  Story  of  the  36th 

In  the  beginning  of  the  attack  tanks  had  been 
employed  to  assist  in  breaking  up  the  enemy  ma- 
chine gun  positions  but  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
assault  was  late  in  starting  and  the  small  knowl- 
edge the  infantrymen  had  of  tank  tactics  these 
were  of  little  value.  Although  the  tanks  advanced 
over  the  ground  in  the  vicinity  of  the  German  po- 
sitions between  the  assaulting  troops  and  the  vil- 
lage, they  apparently  either  had  not  discovered 
these  positions  or  were  unable  to  dislodge  them. 
Neither  were  they  able  to  operate  against  the  ma- 
chine gun  nest  on  the  northern  slope  of  Hill  140, 
where  the  terrain   was   unfavorable  to   tanks. 

As  the  afternoon  faded  shovels  were  plied 
vigorously  by  both  officers  and  men  in  an  effort 
to  make  their  positions  strong  enough  to  be  de- 
fended successfully  in  the  event  of  another  counter 
attack  in  the  morning.  There  was  no  opportunity 
to  count  the  dead  and  wounded.  Here  and  there 
an  officer  had  gathered  a  detachment  of  men  from 
all  companies  in  the  regiment  about  him  and  or- 
ganized them  as  best  he  could. 

Two  of  the  most  conspicuous  acts  of  gallantry 
in  the  entire  war  were  performed  on  the  slopes  of 
Hill  140  during  the  early  part  of  the  morning 
and  brought  the  Congressional  Medal  of  Honor  to 
the  two  enlisted  men  responsible  for  their  accom- 
plishment. These  were  Corporal  Harold  L.  Turn- 
er, Company  F,  142d  Infantry,  and  Sergeant  Sam 
uel  H.  Sampler,  Company  H,  142d  Infantry.  Both 
of  these  men  came  from  the  same  locality  in  Okla- 
homa, Corporal  Turner  living  at  Seminole  and' 
Sergeant  Sampler  at  Mangum.  In  all  its  wars  the 
United    States   has   presented   but   few   Medals    of 


St.  Etienne  131 

Honor,  the  decoration  being  more  difficult  to  at- 
tain than  any  ribbon  given  for  distinguished  ser- 
vice in  action  by  any  nation. 

After  his  platoon  had  started  the  attack, 
Corporal  Turner  assisted  in  organizing  a  platoon, 
consisting  of  the  battalion  scouts,  runners  and  a 
detachment  of  signal  corps.  As  second  in  com- 
mand of  this  platoon  he  fearlessly  led  them  for- 
ward through  heavy  enemy  fire,  continually  en- 
couraging the  men.  Later  he  encountered  deadly 
machine  gun  fire  which  reduced  the  strength  of  his 
command  to  but  four  men,  and  these  were  obliged 
to  take  shelter.  The  enemy  machine  gun  emplace- 
ments, twenty-five  yards  distant,  kept  up  a  con- 
tinual fire  from  four  machine  guns.  After  the  fire 
had  shifted  momentarily.  Corporal  Turner  rushed 
forward  with  fixed  bayonet,  and  charged  the  posi- 
tion alone,  capturing  the  strongpoint,  with  a  com- 
plement of  fifty  Germans  and  four  machine  guns. 
His  remarkable  display  of  courage  and  fearless- 
ness was  instrumental  in  destroying  the  strong 
point,  the  fire  from  which  had  blocked  the  ad- 
vance of  his  company. 

His  company  having  suffered  severe  casual- 
ties during  an  advance  under  machine  gun  fire,  and 
finally  stopped.  Sergeant  Sampler,  then  a  corporal, 
detected  the  position  of  the  enemy  machine  guns 
on  an  elevation.  Armed  with  German  hand  gren- 
ades which  he  had  picked  up,  he  left  the  line  and 
rushed  forward  in  the  face  of  heavy  fire,  until  he 
neared  the  hostile  nest,  where  he  grenaded  the  po- 
sition. His  third  grenade  landed  among  the  enemy 
killing  two,  silencing  the  machine  guns,  and  caus- 
ing the  surrender  of  twenty-eight  Germans,  whom 


132  The  Story  of  the  36th 

he  sent  to  the  rear  as  prisoners.  As  a  result  of  his 
act  the  company  was  immediately  enabled  to  re- 
sume the  advance. 

Throughout  the  day  the  greatest  confusion  had 
existed  at  the  command  posts  of  the  regiments 
and  the  brigade  due  to  the  lack  of  information  re- 
garding the  progress  of  the  attack.  At  first  the 
information  was  highly  favorable,  both  regiments 
reporting  that  they  had  reached  their  intermediate 
objectives.  It  already  has  been  explained  how 
this  was  in  error.  The  maps  provided  were  of  such 
character  that  it  was  extremely  difficult  for  the  of- 
ficers to  ascertain  exactly  where  they  were  and  in 
their  messages  to  their  superiors  they  gave  wrong 
locations. 

Following  the  determined  resistance  met  by 
the  141st  Infantry  and  the  complete  halt  of  its 
attack,  alarming  reports  were  sent  to  the  brigade 
commander  by  officers  of  the  Second  Division. 
These  messages  explained  that  the  casualties  had 
been  extremely  heavy,  that  ammunition  was  low 
and  that  the  assaulting  units  were  engaged  on 
three  sides.  It  soon  became  evident  that  all  three 
lines  of  the  attacking  troops  had  become  merged 
into  one.  This  left  the  back  areas  without  any 
steadying  forces  in  the  event  it  became  necessary 
to  retire  before  an  enemy  counter  attack  and  to 
overcome  this  situation  the  commanding  general 
of  the  Second  Division  placed  two  battalions  of 
the  Second  Engineers  at  the  disposal  of  General 
Whitworth,  one  to  be  placed  in  each  regimental 
sector. 

Learning  of  the  conditions  in  the  area  of  the 
141st  Infantry  General  Whitworth  directed  Colonel 


St.  Etienne  133- 

Jackson  to  go  to  the  front  line  in  person  and  see 
to  its  reorganization.  At  the  same  time  various 
steps  were  taken  to  ascertain  the  correct  positions 
occupied  by  the  troops  as  the  messages  were  so 
conflicting  in  regard  to  these.  According  to  the 
information  sent  from  the  rear  the  right  of  the  141st 
Infantry  at  the  close  of  the  day  was  almost  a  mile 
in  front  of  the  142d  Infantry  right,  and  the  left  of 
the  141st  Infantry  was  several  hundred  yards  in 
front  of  the  142d  Infantry  center.  In  reality  the  left 
of  the  142d  Infantry  was  north  of  the  village  of  St. 
Etienne  while  the  center  and  right  dropped  back 
rapidly  from  the  cemetery  to  the  east  of  the  town 
to  positions  about  500  yards  in  front  of  the  point 
where  the  right  of  the  regiment  had  jumped  off 
during  the  morning.  From  this  point  the  line  of 
the  141st  Infantry  continued  east  and  southeast 
along  the  St.  Etienne-Orfeuil  road,  or  in  rear  rath- 
er than  in  front  of  the  142d  Infantry  line. 

Due  to  this  mass  of  misinformation  repeated 
calls  for  the  artillery  to  register  on  the  machine 
gun  positions  of  the  enemy  in  front  of  the  141st 
Infantry,  remained  unanswered.  At  the  close  of 
the  day  when  this  situation  had  been  gone  over, 
the  brigade  commander  directed  that  personal  re- 
connaissance of  the  front  line  of  both  regiments  be 
made  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Phillipson  of  the  142d 
Infantry.  The  intelligence  section  was  called  upon 
to  get  information  from  every  part  of  the  line  and 
ascertain  conditions  as  to  the  location  of  the  enemy. 
The  confusion,  the  night  and  the  great  loss  among 
the  officers  made  the  accomplishment  of  these 
tasks  almost  impossible.  The  information  gained 
was   so   slight   that   even   next   morning  there    was. 


134  The  Story  of  the  36th 

hesitation  about  using  the  artillery  on  the  ground 
in  front  of  the  141st,  from  which  the  most  damag- 
ing machine  gun  fire  was  being  directed  against 
the  troops  who  had  advanced  on  the  left. 

Throughout  the  day  there  had  been  no  time 
to  consider  fatigue.  The  excitement,  the  constant 
effort  to  advance  under  cover,  the  rapidly  chang- 
ing conditions  and  the  realization  that  vigilance 
was  the  price  of  life,  kept  the  men  on  edge  until 
there  was  no  thought  of  food.  In  the  heat  of  the 
day,  when  they  had  become  hot  from  physical  ac- 
tion, the  want  of  water  was  felt  but  the  supply 
had  been  ample  to  last  through  most  of  this.  With 
the  coming  of  night  and  the  blessed  opportunity  to 
rest  there  also  came  reaction  and  the  gnawing 
hunger  of  men  who  had  not  tasted  food  since  the 
early  morning.  Cans  of  corn  beef,  "corn  willie," 
were  opened,  here  and  there  some  of  the  men  had 
supplies  of  hard  bread,  "hard  tack"  which  they 
shared  with  their  fellows.  Wounded  men  came  in 
for  their  full  portion  and  most  of  these  had  been 
sent  to  the  rear  earlier  in  the  day.  Those  who 
had  no  meat  secured  the  packs  from  the  dead  who 
lay  about  on  the  ground.  But  the  want  of  water 
was  most  imperative.  The  salt  in  the  meat  made 
the  pangs  of  thirst  almost  unendurable.  The  line 
was  too  thinly  held  to  send  details  to  the  rear  for 
water,  however.  The  nearest  supply  was  known 
to  be  more  than  a  mile  to  the  rear.  Messages  sent 
to  the  rear  by  the  wounded  to  have  water  brought 
up  by  details  failed  to  bring  results.  Finally  a 
carrying  party  from  the  line  was  organized  to  go 
to  the  rear  under  the  direction  of  an  officer.  Slowly 
the   hours   dragged   by   and   then   just   before   the 


St.  Etienne  135 

dawn  the  party  returned,  staggering  under  the 
weight  of  cases  of  tomatoes.  No  water  was  to  be 
had  at  the  rear  but  the  water  in  the  cans  served  as 
well  and  nothing  was  ever  more  refreshing  to  the 
thirst  of  parched  troops.  They  grasped  the  cans 
eagerly  and  drained  them   of  their   contents. 

Through  the  hours  of  the  night  sleep  had  been 
secured  by  all  not  on  duty.  This  had  been  little 
enough  on  account  of  the  chill  air  and  no  blankets. 
Every  other  man  in  the  line  was  required  to  re- 
main awake  and  on  the  alert  in  anticipation  of  a 
possible  raid  by  the  enemy.  Patrols  were  sent  out 
constantly  to  make  sure  that  the  ground  to  the  im- 
mediate front  was  clear  of  Germans.  In  the  counter 
attack  of  the  late  afternoon  it  was  known  that 
some  of  the  men  had  been  cut  off  and  the  patrols  in 
the  early  part  of  the  night  were  directed  to  locate 
any  of  these  if  possible  but  there  were  no  results 
from  this.  In  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  the 
wounded  were  evacuated  from  the  village  of  St. 
Etienne. 

There  was  a  shifting  of  forces  all  along  the 
line  during  the  night  in  order  that  some  parts  of 
companies  might  be  reformed.  Company  D  of 
the  142d  Infantry  was  organized  in  the  area  from 
which  it  had  started  during  the  morning  and  to 
which  it  returned  after  getting  cut  of  its  sector 
into  that  of  the  French.  Gaps  in  the  line  were  filled 
here  and  there  and  in  doing  this  an  amusing  and 
interesting  incident  occurred.  On  the  right  of  the 
sector  occupied  by  the  142d  Infantry  it  was  neces- 
sary to  rearrange  the  position  to  cover  a  decided 
gap.  No  one  seemed  to  be  in  command  so  a  private 
who  had  been  in  the  kitchen  as  a  permanent  kitch- 


136  The  Story  of  the  36th 

en  police  during  most  of  the  training  season,  took 
charge  in  the  darkness  and  told  the  men  where  to 
go.  The  authority  indicated  in  his  tones  caused 
the  rest  of  his  fellows  to  address  him  as  '*Lieu- 
tenant,"  and,  when  an  officer  came  along  inquir- 
ing who  was  in  charge  of  that  particular  point  he 
was  referred  to  the  "lieutenant."  Questioning  the 
"lieutenant"  he  was  entirely  satisfied  and  it  was 
not  until  morning  that  the  men  discovered  that  they 
had  been  under  the  command  of  a  student  cook. 
Later  the  man  was  decorated  for  his  work. 

Thus  the  night  passed  without  unusual  inci- 
dent. The  intermittent  shriek  of  the  shells  over- 
head, the  irregular  bursts  of  fire  from  the  machine 
guns,  the  constant  appearance  of  German  flares 
on  the  hill  to  the  north  of  St.  Etienne,  and  the 
stealthy  figures  of  men  moving  here  and  there  to 
accomplish  their  missions  of  reorganization  were 
all.  Nothing  but  the  chill  night  air  prevented 
sound  slumber  for  those  who  could  find  the  oppor- 
tunity and  some  of  these  doubled  themselves  up 
in  their  tiny  fox-holes  to  sleep  in  spite  of  the  cold 
and  the  lumpy  chalk  upon  which  they  lay. 


CHAPTER    VI. 
ST.   ETIENNE— (Continued) 

The  crashing  of  artillery  shells  along  the  en- 
tire front  of  the  Seventy-first  Brigade  heralded  the 
dawn  on  the  morning  of  October  9.  These  for  the 
most  part  were  from  the  enemy's  batteries,  the  fire 
of  the  Allied  guns  being  witheld  because  of  the 
lack  of  proper  information  as  to  the  exact  location 
of  the  front  line.  But  this  intense  shelling  did  not 
catch  the  troops  in  the  front  line  unawares.  Be- 
fore the  dawn  they  had  been  aroused  by  their  offi- 
cers and  were  "standing  to"  in  readiness  for  any 
development.  In  their  training  they  had  been 
taught  that  when  the  enemy  laid  down  his  barrage 
they  were  to  go  into  their  dugouts  and  wait  for 
the  barrage  to  lift  and  roll  on.  But  there  were  no 
dugouts  here.  Each  man  could  only  burrow  deeper 
into  the  little  hole  he  had  cut  for  himself  and  pray 
that  the  next  one  would  not  get  him.  This  intense 
shelling  lasted  for  at  least  thirty  minutes  and  sev- 
eral casualties  resulted.  The  small  number  of  men 
wounded  in  proportion  to  the  fire  from  the  enemy's 
guns  was  remarkable  however. 

During  the  previous  day  it  had  been  learned 
that  to  move  in  the  open  in  any  direction  was  to 
attract  the  fire  of  a  half-dozen  machine  guns  and 
perhaps  light  artillery.  Under  cover  of  night,  how- 
ever, the  men  and  officers  found  that  they  could 
work  with  impunity  just  as  long  as  they  did  not 
make  too  much  noise  and  showed  no  lights.  Fe- 
verish   picks  and   shovels   in   hands  that   could   not 


138  The  Story  of  the  36th 

keep  warm  enough  to  maintain  a  tight  grip  on  the 
handles  of  the  implements,  yet  which  somehow 
managed  through  sheer  determination  to  keep 
at  the  task,  cut  out  an  irregular  line  of  defense 
about  the  village  of  St.  Etienne  and  then  southeast 
in  front  of  Hill  140,  from  whence  it  turned  still 
farther  southeast  along  the  St.  Etienne-Orfeuil  road. 

While  these  troops  in  the  front  line  had  been 
strengthening  their  positions  as  best  they  could, 
the  officers  from  regimental  command  posts,  under 
direction  of  the  brigade  commander,  were  locat- 
ing their  troops  in  the  front  positions  and  organiz- 
ing those  in  the  rear  positions. 

In  the  141st  Infantry  sector  the  front  line  had 
been  reconnoitered  by  Colonel  Jackson  in  person, 
who  then  returned  to  his  headquarters  and  direct- 
ed that  Lieutenant  Colonel  L.  R.  James  proceed 
to  the  front  line  to  take  command  of  the  troops 
there,  two  of  the  majors  having  been  killed  and 
the  other  sent  to  the  rear,  incapacitated.  The  visit 
of  Colonel  Jackson  to  the  front  line  had  failed  to 
clear  up  the  location  of  the  units  in  so  far  as  the 
use  of  artillery  on  the  positions  to  the  right  of  St. 
Etienne  was  concerned.  The  reports  sent  back  to 
the  brigade  commander  showed  the  141st  Infantry 
about  one  kilometer  farther  north,  where  another 
road  ran  east  and  west  from  St.  Etienne,  than  it 
really  was,  along  the  St.  Etienne-Orfeuil  road.  In 
the  support  positions  the  troops  of  the  Second  Di- 
vision had  been  so  placed  that  they  would  render 
assistance  in  the  event  of  an  attack  by  the  enemy, 
the  detachment  of  engineers  taking  position  on  the 
extreme  right  of  the  sector  to  maintain  combat 
liaison  with  the  French. 


St.  Etienne — (Continued)  139 

These  positions  were  maintained  by  the  troops 
throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  day.  In  the 
late  afternoon  it  was  planned  to  conduct  an  at- 
tack on  a  small  scale  against  some  enemy  posi- 
tions on  the  right  that  were  delivering  damaging 
fire  into  the  French  as  well  as  the  141st  Infantry 
lines.  The  small  detachment  picked  to  conduct 
the  assault  was  placed  in  position  and  held  in 
readiness  for  the  time  to  attack.  This  hour  was 
delayed  twice  by  the  French,  who  also  had  a  de- 
tachment prepared  to  go  forward  in  the  assault 
and  then  the  entire  plan  was  abandoned  because 
of  the  intense  bombardment  delivered  by  the 
enemy's  artillery  just  a  few  minutes  prior  to  the 
time  for  the  attack  to  begin.  Those  officers  who 
had  led  their  troops  forward  in  the  gains  of  the 
day  before,  remained  in  command  of  the  positions 
reached,  in  the  right,  left  and  center  respectively. 

In  the  142d  Infantry  area,  a  third  provisional 
battalion  had  been  organized  and  placed  in  the 
trees  on  the  north  slope  of  Blanc  Mont  where  the 
support  battalion  had  been  at  the  beginning  of  the 
attack  the  previous  day.  During  the  night  the 
lines  had  been  reconnoitered  both  by  Major  Mor- 
rissey  and  Lieutenant  Colonel  Phillipson  and  a  de- 
tachment of  Marine  machine  gunners  as  well  as  en- 
gineers from  the  Second  Division  had  been  sent 
into  the  village  of  St.  Etienne  to  strengthen  the  po- 
sitions there.  The  engineers  were  placed  in  the 
cemetery  and  the  Marines  in  the  line  in  front  of  the 
town. 

After  consulting  Major  Morrissey  at  the  latter's 
headquarters.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Phillipson  return- 
ed to  the  command  post  of  the  regiment  with  the 


140  The  Story  of  the  36th 

information  that  instead  of  being  on  a  line  parallel 
with  the  village  of  St.  Etienne  the  troops  of  the 
141st  Infantry  really  were  south  of  the  extreme 
right  of  the  142d  Infantry,  In  the  meantime,  how- 
ever, an  order  had  been  sent  from  the  brigade 
command  post  that  an  attack  would  be  made  the 
morning  of  October  9,  to  straighten  the  line  so  that 
the  right  and  center  of  the  142d  Infantry  would  be 
brought  up  even  with  the  141st  line.  Immediately 
upon  reaching  the  regimental  command  post  and 
communicating  his  information  to  Colonel  Bloor, 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Phillipson  reported  to  brigade 
commander  but  before  he  could  return  to  the  regi- 
mental sector  the  third  battalion  had  been  formed 
and  started  forward  in  attack. 

In  spite  of  the  battering  they  had  received 
the  day  before,  the  assault,  conducted  under  the 
direction  of  Major  Morrissey,  was  executed  in 
splendid  fashion.  The  battalion  swept  forward  in 
waves  of  small  columns  and  then  in  waves  of  skirm- 
mishers  as  first  they  encountered  the  enemy's  artil- 
lery fire  and  then  machine  gun  fire.  Onward  to 
the  front  line  positions  they  came  and  passing 
through  this  line  continued  on  out  over  the  little 
plain  to  the  east  of  St.  Etienne.  By  the  time  they 
reached  the  front  line  already  established  they  had 
suffered  heavily  from  artillery  and  machine  gun 
fire  and  as  soon  as  they  passed  beyond  this  line 
they  met  such  a  withering  fire  from  flank  posi- 
tions on  the  right  as  well  as  frontal  fire  tha^  they 
were  compelled  to  stop  and  take  what  shelter  was 
to  be  found. 

This  attack  was  launched  about  10:30  A.  M. 
and  lasted  the  better  part  of  half  an  hour.     During 


St.   Etienne — (Continued)  141 

the  entire  morning  the  German  batteries  rained 
their  missiles  upon  the  open  ground  to  the  east  of 
St.  Etienne  and  in  the  afternoon  they  concentrat- 
ed their  fire  on  the  village  as  well.  During  the 
next  twenty-four  hours,  night  and  day  there  was 
no  cessation  in  the  shelling  upon  the  village  and 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  afternoon  the  fir- 
ing was  no  less  intense  on  the  open  ground  to  the 
east  of  the  town.  Remnants  of  the  assaulting  force 
which  reached  the  line  to  be  established,  remained 
in  position  until  darkness.  With  the  carrying  of 
wounded  to  the  rear  the  line  began  to  lose  many  of 
its  effectives  as  well.  In  the  middle  of  the  night 
a  force  was  sent  from  the  First  Battalion  to 
strengthen  the  line  but  so  badly  chosen  was  the  po- 
sition and  of  such  little  tactical  value  that  these 
men  were  returned  to  their  positions  of  the  night 
before. 

The  second  night  was  mucn  like  the  first. 
Spades  and  pick-mattacks  were  plied  vigorously 
as  soon  as  the  evening  had  settled  into  darkness. 
In  the  late  afternoon  the  entire  command  "stood 
to"  in  expectation  of  a  possible  attack  by  the  enemy. 
Another  barrage  from  the  enemy's  guns  marked  the 
close  as  well  as  the  opening  of  the  day  and  under 
the  first  cover  of  darkness  the  men  again  set  to 
with  a  will  to  better  their  places  of  shelter  from 
the  enemy's  fire.  Not  all  of  them  had  picks  and 
shovels  and  to  relieve  this  shortage  many  used  their 
mess  pans  to  scoop  out  the  chalky  earth. 

The  prospects  of  an  attack  from  the  enemy 
still  loomed  as  a  possibility.  This  was  considered 
especially  probable  in  view  of  the  situation  all 
along   the   front   although   these    details    were    not 


142  The  Story  of  the  36th 

made  known  to  the  men  in  the  line  at  the  time.  At 
the  time  the  Seventy-first  Brigade  drove  forward  in 
its  attack  to  the  east  of  St.  Etienne,  the  First  Di- 
vision was  hurling  itself  against  the  defenses  of  Hill 
240  and  similar  fortified  positions  in  the  Argonne, 
against  which  the  Thirty-fifth  Division  had  been 
shattered  and  which  were  holding  up  the  general 
attack  between  the  Meuse  and  the  Aisne  Rivers.  At 
this  time  the  Seventy-seventh  Division  was  meeting 
desperate  resistance  in  the  Argonne  woods  proper, 
and  had  a  battalion  cut  off  from  the  division  in 
such  manner  that  it  was  considered  doubtful  if 
any  of  its  personnel  would  get  out  alive. 

In  the  event  the  Texans  and  Oklahomans 
should  break  through  at  St.  Etienne  and  push  on 
over  the  Aisne  it  would  mean  that  the  entire 
scheme  of  defense  in  the  Meuse-Argonne  operation 
would  have  to  be  abandoned  and  perhaps  careful- 
ly prepared  defenses  of  the  Kremhilde  Stellung 
would  avail  nothing.  To  give  way  at  St.  Etienne 
would  mean  that  the  artillerymen  of  the  Fourth 
French  Army  would  be  enabled  to  plant  their  guns 
and  open  a  direct  flanking  fire  against  the  German 
defenses  in  and  around  Vouziers  and  it  was  like- 
ly that  the  attempts  to  cross  the  Aisne  at  this  point 
in  a  flanking  movement  would  be  entirely  success- 
ful. To  prevent  this  necessity  demanded  that  the 
Americans  must  be  held  at  St.  Etienne  a  little 
longer  or  possibly  pushed  backward  over  the  crest 
of  Blanc  Mont  into  the  old  Hindenburg  Line.  To 
accomplish  the  latter  a  gigantic  counter-blow  would 
be  necessary  while  to  make  possible  the  former 
an  attack  on  at  least  a  small  scale  would  be  neces- 
sary since  the  allied  possession  of  the  town  was  a 


St.  Etienne — (Continued)  148 

danger  ever  menacing  the  safety  of  the  Hun  lines 
in  that  vicinity.  Every  nerve  quivering  with  the 
tense  expectancy  of  any  possibility,  listening  posts 
crav^led  back  and  forth  in  front  of  the  Brigade 
sector  through  the  entire  night.  It  w^as  determined 
that  no  sound  of  possible  massing  of  German 
forces  opposite  w^ould  escape  them  and  it  was 
with  genuine  relief  that  the  reports  of  all  patrol 
leaders  in  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  were 
heard  to  give  no  indication  of  activity  on  the  part 
of  the  enemy.  Another  indication  considered  as 
pointing  out  that  the  Germans  would  not  attack 
was  the  appearance  of  three  fires  in  the  back  areas 
of  the  enemy's  lines.  It  was  assured  that  one 
of  these  was  the  village  of  Machault  and  that  the 
others  might  be  either  villages  or  stores  farther 
to  the  northeast.  Later  it  developed  that  all  three 
fires  were  villages  wantonly  destroyed  by  the  Huns 
who  were  getting  ready  to  retire. 

Hunger  and  thirst  were  more  pronounced  the 
second  night,  if  possible,  than  during  the  first. 
Through  the  day  the  sun  had  been  almost  hot  and 
some  of  the  men  had  been  able  to  secure  additional 
sleep  but  the  almost  constant  and  uninterrupted 
presence  of  enemy  airplanes  overhead  had  rendered 
sleep  scarce  enough.  But  if  they  might  sleep  they 
could  get  no  food.  This  had  to  be  brought  up  in 
the  night.  Under  cover  of  darkness  details  again 
went  to  the  rear  and  carried  cases  of  tomatoes  and 
canned  beef  on  their  shoulders  more  than  two 
miles  to  the  places  where  their  comrades  stood 
watch.  Never  had  tomatoes  and  canned  meat 
tasted  so  sweet.  And  they  probably  never  will 
taste  so  sweet  again,  to  the  men  of  the  plains  who 


144  The  Story  of  the  36th 

held  their  rifles  in  readiness  with  one  hand  while 
they  ate  with  the  other.  There  was  not  enough  for 
all  so  each  man  stinted  himself  that  the  others 
might  have  some.  This  second  night  the  detail  had 
been  able  to  get  a  limited  supply  of  water  which 
had  been  hauled  during  the  day  to  the  position  oc- 
cupied by  the  supporting  troops  in  the  first  day's 
formation. 

During  the  night  it  had  become  generally 
known  that  the  Second  Division  troops  would  leave 
the  sector  not  later  than  the  night  of  the  tenth 
and  that  some  of  these  would  leave  the  night  of  the 
ninth.  However  to  relieve  the  i^-ituation  some  of 
the  other  troops  of  the  Seventy-second  Brigade, 
Thirty-sixth  Division,  had  arrived  in  the  vicinity 
of  Somme-Py  and  were  ordered  to  support  the  posi- 
tions occupied  by  the  Seventy-first  Brigade.  Al- 
chough  this  was  known  at  headquarters  it  had  not 
been  communicated  to  the  troops  in  the  front  line 
positions.  These  were  too  busy  with  the  thmgs  in 
front  of  them  to  consider  what  might 
be  taking  place  behind.  The  additional 
lights  of  burning  villages  in  the  direction 
of  Grand-Pre  and  Vouziers  lit  up  the  heavens,  and 
mingling  with  the  flares  which  the  Germans 
were  sending  up  constantly  to  the  immediate  front, 
gave  a  lurid  light  that  served  to  keep  the  attention 
of  wakeful  soldiers  to  the  front. 

When  Thursday,  October  10,  dawned  on  the 
chilled  troops  it  brought  with  it  the  necessity  for  ad- 
ditional shifting  of  positions.  Rumors  spread  that 
there  was  to  be  another  general  assault  by  the 
brigade.  In  the  141st  Infantry  area  a  platoon  from 
Company  A,  which  had  been  in  the  support  position 


St.  Etienne — (Continued)  145 

since  the  initial  attack  the  morning-  of  the  8th,  was 
placed  in  the  gap  at  the  right  of  the  sector  occu- 
pied by  the  Second  Engineers.  A  portion  of  the 
regimental  machine  gun  company  also  was  placed 
here  and  machine  gunners  from  the  132d  Machine 
Gun  Battalion  were  sent  to  other  parts  of  the  line 
to  give  it  strength.  In  the  142d  Infantry  sector  it 
was  necessary  to  shift  a  part  of  the  First  Battalion, 
which  contained  as  many  men  from  the  other  bat- 
talions of  the  regiment  as  it  did  its  own,  to  the 
cemetery  to  relieve  the  detachment  of  Second  En- 
gineers and  Marine  machine  gunners  there,  and  to 
place  additional  men  in  the  line  to  the  north  of 
the  village.  These  last  were  from  the  Third  Bat- 
talion. 

The  rumors  that  the  brigade  was  to  attack 
were  well  founded.  When  the  commanding  gen- 
eral of  the  Second  Division  made  known  the  fact 
■  hat  his  forces  were  to  be  withdrawn  from  the  sec- 
tor he  informed  General  Whitworth  that  the  Sev- 
enty-first Brigade  was  expected  by  the  French 
Corps  commander  to  clear  away  the  force  of  Ger- 
mans north  of  St,  Etienne  as  that  position  was 
holding  up  the  advance  of  the  entire  corps.  When 
the  word  was  passed  to  the  officers  and  men  in 
the  front  line,  there  were  those  who  shook  their 
heads  gravely  and  wondered  as  they  looked 
askance  at  that. gaping  right  flank  that  had  never 
been  covered,  but  there  was  no  complaint.  Every 
man  knew  that  if  the  word  came  to  "go  over",  even 
with  no  more  definite  instructions  than  had  been 
given  the  first  time,  the  brigade  would  go. 

In  the  early  hours  of  Thursday  morning  the 
detachment  of  the  First  Battalion   of  the    142d  In- 


146  The  Story  of  the  36th 

fantry,  moving  to  the  left  through  the  outskirts  of 
the  village  of  St.  Etienne,  made  their  way  into  the 
cemetery.  To  accomplish  this  it  was  necessary  to 
move  by  ones  and  twos  from  one  low  place  m  the 
ground  to  another,  now  in  a  shell  hole,  now  through 
a  shallow  trench  and  now  flat  on  their  faces  in  the 
slightest  fold  in  the  ground  until  all  of  them  had 
reached  the  cover  from  view  behind  the  buildings 
in  the  village.  But  this  was  only  half  the  task  of 
getting  into  the  cemetery.  To  enter  the  strong 
point  occupied  by  the  engineers  it  was  necessary 
to  take  the  men  from  the  village  across  a  stretch 
of  flat,  open  ground  about  fifty  yards  wide  and 
exposed  every  moment  to  the  fire  of  snipers  and 
machine  gunners  as  well  as  others  armed  with 
long  range  automatic  Lugers. 

Hardly  had  the  detachment  reached  the  shel- 
ter of  a  half-demolished  shed  in  the  village  before 
apparently  every  piece  of  artillery  in  the  German 
line  opened  on  the  village.  The  cemetery  was  still 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  away.  One  thing  was  left  to 
do.  Into  three  entrances  of  an  enormous  dugout, 
located  in  the  eastern  end  of  the  village,  the  troops 
plunged  regardless  of  possible  mine  traps  or  gas 
which  might  have  settled  in  the  lower  levels.  As 
the  last  man  disappeared  inside  the  burst  of  a 
mighty  shell  riddled  the  framework  of  one  of  the 
doors.  Probably  in  no  part  of  the  German  line 
from  the  Alps  to  the  Channel  were  there  larger 
dugouts  than  those  in  the  village.  They  were 
nothing  less  than  caverns.  The  one  into  which  the 
relief  detachment  hurried  for  shelter  had  three 
long  passageways  opening  out  from  a  large  cen- 
tral  chamber  in  which  there  were  bunks  for  200 


St.  Etienne — (Continued)  147 

men  and  office  space  enough  for  the  headquarters 
of  a  division.  Undoubtedly  it  had  served  this  pur- 
pose while  the  town  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Hun, 
Signs  posted  on  the  walls  of  the  houses  in  the 
town  and  other  indications  told  of  a  long  estab- 
lished division  headquarters.  In  the  cemetery  the 
grave  of  a  division  commander  bore  further  evi- 
dence of  this. 

In  all  there  were  four  of  these  great  cuverns 
in  the  village  as  well  as  several  smaller  ones.  One 
of  the  best  of  these  was  selected  by  the  battalion 
commander  as  his  headquarters.  This  one  was 
constructed  with  a  concrete  entrance  and  lined 
with  corrugated  iron.  In  some  of  the  great  caves 
women's  garments  were  found  indicating  that  the 
higher  Hun  commanders  had  not  been  without 
company  during  the  long  evenings  when  the  Allied 
guns  did  not  entertain  them.  A  piano  was  found 
in  one  of  the  dugouts  as  well  as  other  furniture 
taken  from  the  better  dwellings  in  the  village.  All 
of  the  caverns  were  lighted  by  electricity  and  in 
the  winter  these  were  much  more  comfortable 
places  of  abode  than  the  houses  in  the  village.  In 
a  house  near  the  dugout  where  the  commanders 
of  the  First  and  Third  Battalions  established  their 
headquarters  and  where  Colonel  Bloor  later  placed 
the  headquarters  of  his  regiment,  the  French  Medi- 
cal corps  had  set  up  a  first  aid  station,  and  here 
also  had  been  gathered  the  bodies  of  perhaps 
forty  Germans,  who  had  fallen  in  the  defense  of 
the  village. 

For  a  time  after  the  artillery  had  opened  on 
the  town  the  streets  were  filled  with  flying  debris 
of  the    shattered   buildings   as   well    as   the   flying 


148 


The  Story  of  the.  36th 


Lt.  Ben  Kiehii.  142(1   Infantry.  After  Coming  Out  of  the 
Lines  Safely  in  October,  1918. 


St.  Etienne — {Continued)  149 

fragments  of  bursting  shell  and  the  fumes  of  the 
high  explosive  caused  the  men  to  clap  their  masks 
on  and  adjust  them  as  soon  as  possible.  The  shed 
in  which  the  detachment  had  been  assembled  as 
soon  as  the  village  was  reached  was  subjected 
tc  a  direct  hit  from  an  enormous  shell  and  at  the 
close  of  the  bombardment  was  only  a  pile  of 
broken  timbers  and  crumbled  brick  and  stone. 
Gradually  the  firing  died  down  until  only  an  oc- 
sional  shell  was  being  directed  toward  the  town 
perhaps  as  often  as  one  every  two  minutes.  This 
was  the  time  to  move.  In  small  groups  of  five  or 
six  men  the  detachment  filtered  out  of  the  en- 
trances to  the  cavern  and  around  the  corners  of  the 
buildings  down  the  street  to  the  edge  of  the  vil- 
lage. Every  little  while  the  far  away  scream  of 
an  approaching  shell  sent  the  men  flat  on  the 
ground  or  caused  them  to  hug  the  walls  of  the 
buildings  while  the  monster  hurtled  nearer  and 
nearer.  Perhaps  it  would  fall  100  yards  away  to- 
ward the  other  side  of  the  village  and  then  every 
face  would  wear  a  derisive  grin.  Perhaps  it 
would  rend  asunder  the  walls  of  a  building  across 
the  street  and  then  there  would  be  a  quick  short 
laugh  of  relief  with  accompanying  remarks  that 
"the  Dutch  could  come  darned  close  without  hit- 
ting." 

Each  little  group  of  the  detachment  would  be 
halted  at  the  edge  of  the  village  and  then  one 
man  at  a  time,  at  irregular  intervals  they  would 
dash  across  the  open  ground  and  into  the  shelter 
of  the  cemetery  fifty  yards  away.  Time  after  time 
as  this  was  accomplished  there  would  be  a  series 
of  spurts  where  the  bullets  of  machine  gunners  and 


150  The  Story  of  the  36th 

snipers  kicked  up  the  dust  in  the  road,  just  too 
late  to  get  the  dodging  doughboy.  After  a  time 
the  men  watching  the  effort  began  to  look  upon  it 
as  a  sort  of  sport  and  some  went  so  far  as  to  make 
small  wagers  that  the  next  man  would  get  over 
the  same  as  the  others  did.  All  of  these  bets  were 
won  by  those  wagering  on  the  side  of  safety.  Every 
man  reached  the  cemetery  with  a  whole  skin.  As 
the  detachment  reached  the  cemetery  defenses  one 
man  at  a  time,  it  took  up  the  positions  that  were 
being  vacated  steadily  by  the  engineers,  who  were 
filtering  out  of  the  position  by  another  route.  Ob- 
servation of  the  men  making  their  way  into  the 
cemetery  soon  brought  intense  shelling  from  the 
enemy  batteries.  The  entire  wrath  of  the  Hun  ar- 
tillerymen again  was  vented  on  that  part  of  the 
village  adjacent  to  the  cemetery  and  the  French 
side  of  the  burial  place  was  wrecked  by  the  high 
explosive  shells.  Just  as  the  detachment  of  engi- 
neers was  getting  away  from  the  village  the  enemy's 
fire  reached  its  greatest  intensity.  The  town  ad- 
jacent to  the  cemetery  was  converted  into  a  chaos 
of  splinters,  dust  and  gas  but  the  Hun  was  too 
late,  the  exchange  of  places  had  been  completed. 
It  was  still  necessary  to  report  the  comple- 
tion of  the  relief  to  battalion  headquarters  but  in- 
stead of  sending  a  runner  with  the  message  the 
commander  of  the  detachment  elected  to  go  him- 
self, as  the  situation  required  discussion  with  the 
battalion  commander  as  to  the  distribution  of 
troops  along  the  line.  Awaiting  a  lull  in  the  firing 
the  officer  started  for  the  village.  As  if  the  artil- 
lery pieces  themselves  had  eyes  they  opened  their 
horrors  on  the  village  before  he  could   reach  the 


St.   Etienne — (Continued)  151 

edge  of  the  cemetery.  Again  there  was  a  lull  and 
this  time  a  dash  for  the  village  succeeded,  the  bul- 
lets of  the  machine  gunners  spattering  in  the  dust 
of  the  road  in  vain.  A  shell  screamed  overhead 
and  landed  in  the  farther  end  of  the  village.  An- 
other block  was  covered  and  another  shell  crashed 
through  the  wall  of  the  house  where  the  officer  had 
paused  as  the  first  shell  exploded.  A  spurt  of  yel- 
low liquid  came  from  this  one  plastering  the  walls 
and  street  with  mustard.  Another  block  was  cov- 
ered and  as  if  tracing  the  officer's  footsteps  a 
third  shell  broke  in  the  street  where  he  had  dodged 
into  a  doorway  to  escape  the  burst  of  the  second. 
This  was  the  usual  experience  of  every  man  who 
passed  through  the  village  during  the  three  days 
that  followed  the  capture  of  the  town. 

Completing  his  report  and  receiving  additional 
instruction  as  to  his  mission  in  the  cemetery  the 
officer  emerged  from  the  battalion  commander's 
dugout  into  the  street  where  apparent  quiet  had 
succeeded  the  shelling  of  a  short  time  before.  It 
was  the  calm  before  the  storm.  Halfway  down  the 
street  not  one  but  a  half-dozen  shells  sent  their 
warning  to  the  occupants  of  the  village.  And 
these  were  followed  by  others.  The  dea:^ening 
roar  of  one  who  had  not  subsided  before  another 
stopped  the  ability  of  ears  to  distniguish  sound.  A 
dozen  times  within  the  space  of  two  blocks  the 
officer  was  flattened  against  a  wall,  crouching  be- 
hind a  corner  or  huddled  in  a  hole  while  the  shells 
spent  their  force  against  the  masonry  of  the  village. 
Finally  dashing  into  the  cemetery  from  the  bullet 
swept  open  space,  with  his  face  somewhat  be- 
grimed  and  with  a  tiny  splash   of  mustard   between 


152  The  Story  of  the  36th 

his  shoulders  the  officer  greeted  his  second  in  com- 
mand and  settled  down  to  comfort  in  the  German 
side  of  the  cemetery.  This  incident  is  related  only 
to  show  what  the  troops  in  the  village  were  going 
through  hour  after  hour  as  it  was  necessary  for 
men  to  go  here  and  there  with  messages  and  offi- 
cers were  required  to   make  tours  of  inspection. 

The  German  cemetery  proved  to  be  the  safest 
place  in  the  line.  Here  there  were  more  than  2,000 
German  dead  and  although  the  shells  from  the 
enemy  batteries  ploughed  craters  on  every  side  the 
cemetery  itself  was  not  touched.  Troops  in  the 
other  front  line  positions  were  not  so  fortunate  al- 
though the  shelling  on  all  parts  of  the  line  was  not 
so  concentrated  as  on  the  village.  Here  the  gas 
shell  fell  in  such  quantities  that  the  fumes  made  it 
extremely  uncomfortable  in  all  positions  as  the  wind 
shifting  from  time  to  time  rolled  the  gas  away  from 
rhe  town  to  the  places  where  men  were  lying  in 
foxholes  along  the  line. 

While  the  position  of  the  cemetery  was  being 
taken  over  from  the  engineers,  who  also  han  men 
from  the  Seventy-first  Brigade  with  them,  the  de- 
tachment from  the  Third  Battalion  was  being  fil- 
tered through  the  village,  and  then  across  the  creek 
bed  to  the  positions  north  of  the  town.  Here  the 
positions  were  more  directly  facing  the  line  of 
trenches  occupied  by  the  Germans.  At  a  disad- 
vantage because  their  position  was  under  observa- 
tion by  the  enemy  from  several  directions  the  men 
in  this  part  of  the  line  could  only  crouch  in  their 
holes  and  lay  in  readiness  for  the  next  move.  To 
lift  a  finger  above  the  ground  was  to  invite  close 
range  sniping  as  well  as  machine  gun  fire. 


St.   Etienne — (Continued)  153 

Partly  because  it  had  been  directed  trom  the 
corps  commander  that  the  enemy  positions  to  the 
north  of  the  town  would  be  reduced  by  the  brigade 
and  partly  because  the  position  occupied  was  all 
but  untenable,  an  officer  was  sent  out  with  six 
men  in  daylight  to  patrol  and  reconnoiter  the 
ground  along  the  road  leading  from  St.  Etienne  to 
the  north  and  ascertain  as  much  as  possible  about 
the  positions  occupied  by  the  Germans.  Repeated 
reports  that  the  enemy  was  retiring  from  this  front 
had  caused  the  order  from  the  rear  that  contact 
was  to  be  maintained  at  all  times  with  the  Ger- 
mans and  the  instructions  to  the  patrol  leader  was 
that  he  was  to  reach  a  position  where  he  could  get 
observation  on  the  German  trenches  if  possible. 
Crawling  over  every  foot  of  the  way  the  patrol  made 
its  way  along  a  shallow  ditch  at  the  side  of  the  road 
for  a  considerable  distance  in  "no-man's-land." 
Suddenly  from  both  sides  and  in  front  the  little 
group  became  the  target  of  the  enemy  snipers.  Bul- 
lets in  a  perfect  hail  left  the  officer  and  four  of 
his  men  on  the  ground  while  the  other  two  made 
their  way  back  as  best  they  could.  There  was  all 
the  contact  desired. 

To  make  doubly  sure  that  the  village  was 
under  fire  from  the  enemy  lines  the  commanding 
general  of  the  Second  Division  had  sent  an  artil- 
lery officer  into  the  town.  This  officer  had  ridden 
his  horse  to  the  edge  of  the  village  without  getting 
hit  although  fired  upon  frequently.  The  horse  was 
hitched  to  a  post  in  the  edge  of  the  town  while  the 
artillery  officer  hurried  to  the  dugout  of  the  bat- 
talion commander.  Satisfied  as  to  the  conditions 
he  had  observed  he  started  to  return  on  his  horse 


154  The  Story  of  the  36th 

only  to  find  that  while  he  was  in  the  dugout  at 
battalion  headquarters  his  mount  had  been  blown 
to  atoms  by  a  German  shell.  The  bridle  was  still 
attached  to  the  post.  For  the  purpose  of  learning 
accurately  the  conditions  at  this  point  the  chief  of 
staff  of  the  Second  Division  also  visited  the  village 
at  the  time  the  relief  in  the  cer.^etery  was  being 
conducted.  After  a  brief  conversation  with  the 
officer  in  charge  of  the  relief  detachment,  he  re- 
turned to  division  headquarters.  Later  he  was 
decorated  with  the  Distinguished  Service  Cross 
for  this  voluntary  exploit. 

Expecting  that  the  attack  on  the  enemy  posi- 
tions north  of  St.  Etienne  would  develop  at  any 
time  the  troops  along  the  whole  extent  of  the  bri- 
gade front  were  on  a  keen  edge  of  expectancy 
during  the  entire  morning  and  afternoon  of  October 
10.  In  so  far  as  possible  the  ground  over  which 
the  advance  would  be  made  was  reconnoitered  and 
avenues  of  approach  against  the  positions  were 
picked  out.  The  thing  that  puzzled  both  officers 
and  men  most  was  the  fact  that  little  or  no  firing 
was  being  conducted  by  their  own  artillery.  In- 
frequently the  guns  at  the  rear  were  sending  over 
shell  to  the  back  areas  of  the  German  lines  but 
none  against  the  positions  in  the  immediate  front 
from  which  so  much  trouble  was  coming.  When 
in  the  afternoon  of  October  10  the  artillery  at  the 
rear  actually  did  open  on  the  nearest  enemy  posi- 
tions it  strengthened  the  belief  that  an  attack  was 
to  be  launched  at  dusk.  This  assault  however  did 
not  result.  The  artillery  fire  had  been  secured 
through  the  personal  efforts  of  Colonel  Bloor  of  the 
142d    Infantry,    who    had    taken    all    responsibility 


St.   Etienne — (Continued)  155 

for  damage  that  might  occur  to  friendly  troops. 
Through  the  two  days  and  nights  following  the  at- 
tack it  had  not  been  determined  that  the  line  on 
the  right  of  the  brigade  sector  was  not  a  kilometer 
in  advance  of  the  position  actually  held. 

The  third  night  after  the  beginning  of  the 
attack  again  was  one  of  hunger  and  thirst.  The 
supply  of  water  in  the  village  was  confined  to  one 
well  which  had  been  tested  by  the  French  medical 
troops  and  this  was  difficult  of  access  because  of  the 
constant  shelling  by  the  enemy  batteries  and  the 
danger  of  losing  men  by  sending  them  after  water. 
During  the  lulls  in  the  firing  a  small  supply  of 
water  was  brought  from  the  well  however  and 
just  before  daylight  a  limited  amount  of  corned 
beef  was  issued.  This  was  the  fifth  day  and  night 
that  the  men  had  been  without  cooked  food.  In 
♦every  captured  position  they  had  found  cans  of 
German  solidified  alcohol  with  which  they  had 
boiled  coffee,  the  only  warm  food  possible  to  pro- 
cure. The  nights  were  more  miserable  than  the 
days.  In  addition  to  the  necessity  for  constant 
watchfulness  and  patrolling  it  was  impossible  for 
one  to  sleep  comfortably  in  the  chill  night  air 
without  covering  other  than  the  clothing  worn 
during  the  day.  Toward  the  morning  invariably 
there  was  a  chill  mist  which  caused  the  men  to 
shake  and  thresh  their  arms  about  in  an  effort  to 
stimulate  circulation. 

During  the  night  of  the  ninth  all  units  of  the 
Second  Division  were  relieved  from  the  entire  brig- 
ade front.  The  engineers  had  been  withdrawn 
by  noon  during  the  day  and  early  in  the  evening 
the    machine    gunners    had   taken     their    guns    and 


156  The    Story  of  the  :U)th 

moved  out  to  the  rear.  This  left  the  infantrymen 
in  the  line  holding  the  positions  with  their  auto- 
matic rifles  to  replace  the  machine  guns.  In  sev- 
eral places  the  light  Maxim  machine  guns  captured 
from  the  enemy  were  set  up  to  be  used  as  defen- 
sive weapons  in  the  event  of  a  counter  attack  and 
with  the  adjustment  carried  out  the  morning  of  the 
ninth  the  line  presented  a  stronger  organization 
than  before.  With  a  greater  knowledge  of  the  line 
than  they  had  had  when  they  first  went  forward 
in  attack  the  men  also  had  gained  greater  confi- 
dence. Thus  while  there  was  a  general  feeling 
of  relief  that  the  expected  assault  against  the 
enemy  positions  to  the  north  of  St.  Etienne  did  not 
develop  yet  it  is  assured  that  the  men  would  have 
done  as  well  or  better  than  they  did  the  first  day. 

ARRIVAL   OF   THE  WHOLE   DIVISION. 

• 

Simultaneously  with  the  movement  of  the 
Seventy-first  Brigade  from  the  area  around  Somme- 
Suippe  to  the  front  line  positions,  the  balance  of 
the  Thirty-sixth  Division  still  in  the  area  around 
Pocancy,  was  started  on  its  way  to  the  vicinity  of 
Vadenay,  a  hamlet  about  fifteen  miles  north  of 
Chalons-sur-Marne.  This  was  to  be  the  location  of 
the  new  division  command  post  according  to  the 
orders  received  from  the  Twenty-first  French  Army 
Corps  commander.  Accordingly  all  the  division 
sick  were  evacuated  to  the  hospital,  surplus  prop- 
erty was  stored  in  the  Pocancy  area  and  the  march 
begun  over  the  unimproved  roads  which  traveled 
in  a  semi-circle  northwest  of  Chalons-sur-Marne. 
By  this  time  the  Seventy-second  Brigade   was   much 


St.   Etienne — {Continued)  157 

better  equipped  for  a  march  than  had  been  the 
Seventy-first  Brigade.  There  were  more  rolling 
kitchens  and  the  regimental  supply  organizations 
were  better  prepared  to  move  rations  and  muni- 
tions. However  these  troops  were  still  handi- 
capped in  this  respect  to  a  certain  extent.  The  143d 
Infantry  left  part  of  its  rations  in  the  area  near 
Pocancy  while  the  144th  Infantry  left  part  of  its 
amimunition  there.  Teams  were  doubled  in  order 
to  drag  the  wagons  over  the  roads  and  details  of 
infantrymen  were  necessary  at  frequent  intervals  to 
get  the  wagons  out  of  mudholes  into  which  they 
had  sunk. 

At  this  time  the  Seventy-second  Brigade  also 
was  considerably  larger  numerically  than  the  Sev- 
enty-first Brigade.  It  had  a  total  strength  of 
something  more  than  6,000  officers  and  men.  Most 
of  these  officers  had  been  with  the  brigade  a  long 
time  and  were  familiar  with  their  men  as  well  as 
the  officers  of  the  neighboring  units.  In  addition 
to  the  Seventy-second  Brigade  the  supply  train, 
the  sanitary  train,  the  ammunition  train,  the  131st 
Machine  Gun  Battalion  and  the  balance  of  the 
field  signal  battalion  made  the  march.  Due  to  the 
mud  which  rapidly  exhausted  the  strength  of  the 
men  and  animals  the  march  was  slow  and  accom- 
plished with  the  greatest  difficulty.  The  night  of 
October  6,  the  headquarters  detachment  of  the 
Seventy-second  Brigade  halted  in  the  town  of  La 
Veuve,  the  143d  Infantry  in  La  Veuve  and  Dam- 
pierre-au-Temple,  the  144th  Infantry  at  Ferme  de 
Vadenay  and  the  133d  Machine  Gun  Battalion  at 
Cupearly.      Only   a   few   buildings   were  available  in 


158  The  Story  of  the  36th 

any  of  these  places  so  the  officers  as  well  as  the 
men  were  required  to  bivouac  in  the  open. 

During  the  day  the  advance  echelon  of  divi- 
sion headquarters  was  established  at  Vadenay,  the 
rear  echelon  at  Pocancy  not  getting  under  way  until 
the  seventh.  Before  the  men  at  headquarters  could 
get  settled  at  Vadenay  additional  instructions  call- 
ed for  another  movement  of  the  troops  to  the  area 
just  north  of  Suippes  and  orders  were  sent  out  at 
3  o'clock  the  morning  of  October  7,  for  this  move 
to  be  accomplished.  Although  the  march  of  the 
seventh  was  not  long  it  was  equally  as  difficult  as 
that  of  the  day  previous  so  that  the  troops  were 
all  but  exhausted  when  they  arrived  at  their  des- 
tination. Some  difficulty  was  experienced  in  bil- 
leting the  troops  when  they  arrived  in  the  area 
north  of  Suippes  but  finally  the  entire  command 
was  settled  in  old  French  rest  billets  in  the  terri- 
tory north  of  Suippes  and  between  that  place  and 
the  ruins  of  Souain.  Some  of  the  men  were  re- 
quired to  live  in  shelter  tents  but  most  of  them 
secured  shelter  in  the  rather  insanitary  wooden 
shacks. 

Only  the  wagon  transportation  accompanied 
the  troops  on  the  march.  The  trains  were  dis- 
patched to  Suippes  over  the  better  roads  and  ar- 
rived ahead  of  the  marching  columns.  Thus  the 
balance  of  the  division,  less  the  111th  Engmeers 
who  had  left  the  command  in  the  Bar-sur  Aube 
area,  and  the  Sixty-first  Artillery  Brigade,  which 
was  still  in  the  training  center,  was  assembled 
near  the  area  from  which  the  men  of  the  Se^^enty- 
first  Brigade  had  made  their  march  into  their  first 
fight.     The  evening  of  the  seventh   Major  General 


St.  Etienne — (Continued)  159 

Smith  had  learned  unofficially  that  the  Seventy- 
first  Brigade  was  to  assault  the  morning  of  the 
eighth,  even  before  the  troops  in  the  line  were 
aware  of  the  program  ahead  of  them.  The  after- 
noon of  October  8,  officers  who  had  been  sent  for- 
ward to  make  a  reconnaissance,  brought  back  in- 
formation of  the  splendid  courage  displayed  in  the 
assault  as  well  as  the  fearful  casualties  that  had 
been  suffered. 

The  morning  of  October  8  the  sanitary  train 
passed  from  the  control  of  the  commander  of 
trains  and  was  placed  at  the  direction  of  the  di- 
vision surgeon.  Later  it  went  to  the  vicinity  of 
Somme-Py  where  it  was  used  to  evacuate  the 
wounded.  Headquarters  of  the  sanitary  train  re- 
mained in  the  vicinity  of  Somme-Suippe  with  other 
rear  echelons  of  the  trains.  The  supply  train  after 
reaching  Suippes  was  sent  back  to  the  railhead  at 
La  Cheppe,  a  small  station  on  the  railroad  between 
Chalons  and  Suippes.  This  train  also  brought 
forward  the  water  carts  and  rolling  kitchens  which 
had  been  stored  at  Jalons  when  the  division  moved. 
During  the  day  the  division  ordnance  officer  took 
over  the  ammunition  dump  from  the  Second  Divis- 
ion Ordnance  Officer  in  the  vicinity  of  Somme-Py 
and  that  night  the  111th  Ammunition  Train  in 
bringing  up  a  supply  of  cartridges  for  the  Brown- 
ing machine  guns  and  automatic  rifles  as  well  as 
grenades  and  pyrotechnics,  came  under  shell  fire 
for  the  first  time.  In  spite  of  this  new  experience 
it  unloaded  its  supplies  and  returned  to  the  rear 
areas  without  mishap  and  accomplished  its  mission 
in  the  most  approved  fashion. 


160  The  Story  of  the  36th 

Late  in  the  evening  of  October  8,  General 
Smith  with  his  chief  of  staff  was  summoned  to  the 
command  post  of  the  Twenty-first  French  Army 
Corps  where  instructions  were  given  for  the  com- 
plete relief  of  the  Second  Division,  In  the  course 
of  this  trip  to  the  corps  commander's  headquarters 
General  Smith  passed  through  the  zone  of  the 
enemy's  artillery  fire  with  his  automobile,  the  com- 
mand post  of  the  corps  being  only  a  short  distance 
from  Somme-Py.  In  his  discussion  of  the  situation 
the  French  corps  commander  explained  that  ^t  had 
not  been  his  purpose  originally  to  have  the  Seventy- 
first  Brigade  relieve  the  entire  front  line  of  the 
Second  Division  and  that  the  disposition  of  Briga- 
dier General  Whitworth's  troops  was  not  in  ac- 
cordance with  his  views.  General  Naulin  explained 
to  General  Smith  what  was  desired  in  the  way  of 
formations  for  the  division  and  prescribed  that  the 
artillery  of  the  Second  Division  should  remain  with 
the  Thirty-sixth  in  the  line.  Also  it  was  provided 
that  the  troops  in  the  sector  should  remain  under 
the  command  of  Major  General  Lejeune  until  10 
o'clock  the  morning  of  October  10,  when  the  com- 
mand would  pass  to  General  Smith.  General  Le- 
jeune also  was  to  remain  with  the  commanding 
general  of  the  Thirty-sixth  for  twenty-four  hours 
after  the  exchange  of  command  and  upon  leaving 
was  to  provide  a  staff  officer  thoroughly  familiar 
with  the  situation  to  remain  with  General  Smith 
for  another  twenty-four  hours. 

Following  out  these  instructions  the  144th  In- 
fantry was  sent  forward  October  9,  to  a  point  in 
the  vicinity  of  Blanc  Mont  while  the  143d  Infantry 
went  to  a  point  to  the  east  of  Blanc  Mont.     These 


St.   Etienne — (Continued)  161 

troops  were  able  to  travel  in  much  better  fashion 
than  had  the  troops  of  the  other  brigade.  Their 
rolling  kitchens  enabled  them  to  carry  cooked  ra- 
tions in  addition  to  the  emergency  rations  although 
they  suffered  from  lack  of  water  as  had  their  com- 
rades a  few  days  before.     By  the  night  of  October 

9  some  of  these  troops  had  entered  the  sector  of 
the  Seventy-first  Brigade  and  a  battalion  of  the 
143d  Infantry  was  placed  in  the  positions  vacated 
by  the  engineers  in  rear  of  the  141st  Infantry.  It 
was  not  until  the  following  day  however  that  the 
troops  had  reached  a  position  where  they  mij.^ht  be 
sent  to  the  relief  of  the  units  in  the  front  line  and 
there  was  considerable  confusion  the  night  of  the 
tenth  when  some  of  the  companies  from  the  144th 
Infantry  came  under  shell  fire  on  the  northern 
slopes  of  Blanc  Mont  as  they  were  taking  up  a  po- 
sition in  support  of  the  142d  Infantry. 

The  division  machine  gun  battalion  of  the 
Second  Division  was  relieved  after  considerable 
difficulty  by  the  131st  Machine  Gun  Battalion, 
Major  Ellis  Stephenson  in  command,  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  Second  Division  machine  gur  offi- 
cer could  not  be  located  nor  could  the  commander 
of  the  Second  Division  Machine  Gun  Battalion  be 
found  in  time  to  make  the  relief  as  scheduled.  How- 
ever all  troops  of  the  Second  Division  had  been 
withdrawn    from   the    sector  the    night    of    October 

10  and  the  entire  sector  was  ready  to  be  taken 
over  by  the  commander  of  the  Thirty-sixth  Divis- 
ion during  the  previous  morning. 


162 


The   Story   of   the   36th 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ST.  ETIENNE  AND  AFTER 

During  the  night  of  October  10,  after  the  ar- 
rival of  the  units  of  the  Seventy-second  Brigade  and 
the  completion  of  the  relief  of  the  Second  Division, 
there  was  a  noticeable  falling  off  in  the  enemy's 
volume  of  artillery  fire.  Up  until  midnight  the  fir- 
ing along  the  front  line  was  intermittent  but  in 
the  hours  after  midnight  the  shells  came  with  a 
regularity  that  was  unbroken.  Through  the  early 
part  of  the  night  the  Germans  in  the  immedi- 
ate front  continued  to  send  up  about  the  usual  num- 
ber of  flares  but  in  the  early  morning  even  these 
ceased  to  be  as  numerous.  All  of  the  shells  which 
fell  in  the  vicinity  were  of  the  largest  caliber.  The 
town  of  St.  Etienne  continued  to  be  the  chief  target. 

Going  into  the  sector  of  the  141st  Infantry  the 
relieving  troops  of  the  143d  Infantry  were  dis- 
posed with  the  Second  and  Third  Battalions  in  the 
first  line  of  supports,  under  the  command  of  Majors 
Horace  B.  Siebe  and  Joe  T.  Goodman,  respectively, 
while  the  Third  Battalion  under  Major  William  E. 
Lake,  was  located  in  a  second  position  to  the  rear. 
In  the  sector  of  the  144th  Infantry  the  disposition 
was  carried  out  on  a  similar  plan.  In  this  regiment 
the  First  Battalion  under  Major  Lloyd  S.  Hill  took 
position  on  the  northern  slopes  of  Blanc  Mont  in 
about  the  position  occupied  by  the  support  line  the 
morning  of  the  first  assault,  while  the  Second  Bat- 
talion, under  Major  Clark  M.  Mullican,  as  well  as 
the  Third  Battalion  under  Captain  Henry  H.  Craig, 

[163] 


164  The  Story  of  the  36th 

took  station  farther  back  toward  the  positions  on. 
the  top  of  the  ridge.  Two  companies  of  the  133d 
Machine  Gun  Battalion  were  placed  with  each  of 
these  regiments,  which  also  had  their  regimental 
machine  gun  companies. 

During  the  relief  there  had  been  a  few  casual- 
ties from  shell  fire  and  in  the  141st  area  the  for- 
ward battalions  had  been  annoyed  considerably 
by  the  enemy's  machine  gun  and  sniper  fire.  Other 
units  of  the  division  had  relieved  corresponding 
units  of  the  Second  Division  with  more  or  less  diffi- 
culty, due  to  the  long  range  shelling,  by  the 
enemy's  guns,  of  the  positions  in  the  vicinity  of 
Somme-Py.  Here  an  oflficer  and  five  men  of  the 
Sanitary  train  had  been  killed  by  the  explosion  of 
one   shell   while   several   others   were   wounded. 

While  the  troops  of  the  Seventy-second  Brigade 
were  getting  settled  into  their  positions  the  night 
of  the  tenth,  patrols  from  the  units  of  the  Seventy- 
first  Brigade  were  patrolling  the  ground  to  the  front 
along  the  Arnes,  in  the  locality  of  St.  Etienne  and 
among  the  pine  groves  where  the  line  ran  to  the 
southeast  of  the  village.  One  of  these  patrol.=  sent 
out  from  the  position  in  the  cemetery,  just  before 
daylight,  returned  with  the  information  that  a 
cry  had  just  been  heard  from  well  up  the  creek 
bed  toward  the  location  from  which  the  Germans 
had  directed  their  counter  attack  the  afternoon  of 
October  8.  For  a  few  minutes  all  ears  were 
strained  to  locate  the  cry  and  then  faintly  thi'ough 
the  mist  it  was  borne  to  the  men  in  the  shell  holes: 
"Help,  Americans,  help  me!"  Ruses  of  the  Ger- 
mans had  been  recounted  to  the  men  too  often  for 
them  not  to  consider  this  another  trick  of  the  Hun, 


St.  Etienne  and  After  165 

but  it  also  was  known  that  some  of  the  men  had 
been  wounded  and  perhaps  cut  off  at  the  close  of 
the  attack  on  the  eighth.  Two  men  quickly  volun- 
teered to  go  out  and  locate  the  wounded  man,  if  in- 
deed it  were  such,  or  to  determine  if  it  were  a 
German  ruse.  Melting  into  the  mist  they  were 
gone  but  comparatively  a  short  time  before  they 
returned,  walking  slowly  under  the  weight  of  a 
man  who  clung  to  their  shoulders  as  they  carried 
him  between  them.  The  man  proved  to  be  Private 
William  C.  Schaeffer  of  Company  A,  142d  Infan- 
try, who  had  been  wounded  in  the  knee  by  a  piece 
of  shell,  the  afternoon  of  October  8,  and  who  had 
crawled  into  a  dugout  to  hide  when  the  counter  at- 
tack caused  the  line  to  swing  back  and  connect 
up  with  the  other  troops  in  front  of  Hill  140.  He 
had  heard  the  German  troops  all  about  him  but 
dared  not  move  out  of  his  hiding  place  for  fear  of 
capture.  Twice  he  had  administered  first  aid  to 
his  wound  and  had  managed  to  live  on  the 
emergency  rations  carried  in  his  pack.  Thirst  fin- 
ally had  driven  him  from  the  dugout  the  m':^rning 
of  the  eleventh  when  the  sounds  of  firintJ  and 
voices  had  ceased.  He  had  crawled  a  considerable 
distance  toward  the  American  lines  before  calling 
for  help.  As  he  left  his  hiding  place  he  had  heard 
German  machine  gunners  talking  only  a  short 
distance  away. 

The  first  rays  of  the  morning  light  were  fil- 
tering through  the  mist  as  the  patrol  brought 
Private  Schaeff"er  into  the  cemetery  and  about  the 
same  time  all  firing  by  the  enemy  machine  guns 
ceased  along  the  line.  It  was  the  first  time*  that 
the  firing  had   wholly  stopped   since  the   troops   of 


166  The     Story  of  the  36th 

the  Seventy-first  Brigade  arrived  on  the  line  and 
the  strange  stillness  could  not  be  understood  for 
some  time.  In  the  mist  it  was  thought  that  the 
enemy  had  stopped  firing  because  he  could  not 
distinguish  targets  at  which  to  fire  but  this  was 
contrary  to  custom.  Patrols  were  sent  out  cautiously 
but  none  of  these  encountered  the  Hun  although 
they  found  where  he  had  been  but  a  short  time 
before. 

During  the  day  previous  the  French  on  either 
side  of  the  division's  sector  sent  in  constant  reports 
that  the  enemy  was  falling  back,  leaving  only 
small  machine  gun  detachments  to  delay  the  Al- 
lied advance.  On  the  east  the  French  had  been 
able  to  advance  until  they  were  approximately 
abreast  of  the  Thirty-sixth  Division  front  line  while 
those  on  the  west  had  had  little  success  in  for- 
warding their  position.  Late  in  the  afternoon  of 
the  tenth,  it  was  reported  that  the  French  on  the 
left  were  holding  a  line  which  ran  northwest  of 
St.  Etienne  but  this  was  the  same  condition  that 
had  prevailed  the  day  previous,  when  the  French 
had  been  able  to  move  up  following  the  attacks 
of  the  Seventy-first  Brigade. 

During  the  afternoon  of  the  tenth  the  com- 
mander of  the  Twenty-first  corps  had  visited  the 
headquarters  of  General  Smith  to  hold  a  confer- 
ence and  insist  that  the  brigades  be  placed  side  by 
side  in  the  line  as  soon  as  possible.  Also  plans 
were  worked  out  for  the  Seventy-second  Brigade 
to  attack  the  afternoon  of  the  tenth  at  17  o'clock 
(5  P.  M.).  In  order  to  accomplish  this  the  divi- 
sion operations  officer  prepared  a  comprehensive 
order    directing    the    attack  and    had    it    distributed 


St.  Etiennne  and  After  167 

with  maps.  Regimental  commanders  upon  receiv- 
ing this  order  called  their  conferences  with  their 
battalion  corhmanders  and  the  preparations  for  the 
forward  movement  were  rushed  to  completion.  In 
this  rush^  however,  there  was  the  same  lack  of  par- 
ticular instruction  to  a  degree  that  characterized 
the  assault  by  the  Seventy-first  Brigade  the  morn- 
ing of  the  eighth.  The  maps  were  not  pasted  to- 
gether and  the  officers  did  not  have  sufficient  op- 
portunity to  give  instructions  to  their  men.  How- 
ever, there  had  been  greater  opportunity  for  recon- 
naissance and  the  general  conditions  were  much 
better  known  than  had  been  the  case  with  the 
other  troops. 

At  the  given  hour  the  assault  battalions  of 
both  regiments  moved  forward.  The  143d  Infan- 
try on  the  right  was  directed  to  pass  over  the 
lines  of  the  141st  Infantry  and  drive  the  enemy 
from  his  position  in  front  of  that  sector.  The 
same  general  scheme  prevailed  for  the  144th  In- 
fantry with  regard  to  the  lines  of  the  142d  Infantry. 
The  objective  given  both  regiments  was  the  front 
line  of  the  French  on  the  right  which  was  de- 
clared to  be  progressing  in  pursuit  of  the  slowly 
retreating  enemy.  This  was  in  compliance  with 
orders  from  the  corps  commander  to  the  effect 
that  the  advance  of  the  Thirty-sixth  would  be  gov- 
erned by  the  advance  of  the  French  units  on  either 
side. 

In  the  gathering  darkness  the  success  of  the 
attack  did  not  develop.  On  the  right  the  143d 
Infantry  had  trouble  in  locating  the  front  line. 
Through  the  gaps  that  existed  there  the  assault 
battalion   passed  parts  of   the   line   without   knowing 


168  The  Story   of   the   36th 

it  and  then  thinking  it  best  to  make  sure  of  its 
position  before  advancing  farther,  halted  for  the 
night.  These  troops  already  had  been  under  ar- 
tillery fire  while  in  support  of  the  141st  Infantry 
the  day  and  night  previous  and  had  suffered  sev- 
eral casualties.  In  the  advance  the  afternoon  of 
the  tenth  they  had  encountered  gas  shells  and  had 
made  part  of  the  advance  while  wearing  gas 
masks. 

On  the  left  the  144th  Infantry  started  its  at- 
tack simultaneously  with  a  burst  of  shelling  from 
the  enemy's  long  range  artillery.  Some  of  these 
shells  fell  directly  among  the  advancing  elements 
and  wrought  general  confusion.  The  result  of  this 
was  that  the  leading  battalion  halted  on  the  line 
from  which  the  assault  battalion  of  the  142d  In- 
fantry had  jumped  off  the  morning  of  the  eighth. 
From  this  position  patrols  were  sent  out  in  the 
night,  the  troops  being  under  the  impression  that 
they  were  in  the  front  line,  and  the  position  was 
occupied  throughout  the  night.  In  the  early  hours 
of  the  morning  members  of  the  intelligence  sec- 
tion of  the  144th  Infantry,  patrolling  to  the  front 
encountered  the  detachment  of  the  142d  Infantry 
in  the  cemetery  to  the  east  of  the  village  and  then 
returned  with  their  information  regarding  the  lo- 
cation of  the  actual  front  line.  While  one  battal- 
ion was  locating  along  the  jump  off  line  directly 
south  of  the  village  another  had  posted  itself  to 
the  south  of  Hill  140  where  it  would  have  shelter 
from  the  enemy's  machine  gun  fire. 

Units  of  the  133d  Machine  Gun  Battalion  had 
been  assigned  equally  to  the  two  infantry  regi- 
ments   but    encountered    considerable    difficulty    in 


St.  Etiemie  and  After  169 

maintaining  liaison  in  the  night.  One  of  the  com- 
panies completely  lost  touch  with  the  infantry 
to  which  it  was  assigned  and  did  not  regain  com- 
munication  until  the  morning  of  the  eleventh. 

There  were  several  gas  casualties  reported  to 
the  dressing  stations  during  the  afternoon  but  most 
of  these  were  of  a  slight  nature  and  some  of  the 
men  were  returned  for  duty  in  the  line  where  they 
had  suffered  only  from  the  fumes  of  high  explosive 
shells.  The  effect  of  the  high  explosive  vanished 
with  a  short  rest  where  the  sufferer  could  have 
fresh  air. 

The  night  of  the  tenth  the  b^ervice  of  supply 
had  considerable  difficulty  in  bringing  up  stores  to 
the  units  of  the  Seventy-second  Brigade  due  to  the 
confusion  that  existed  when  the  passage  of  lines 
was  not  completed.  The  water  supply  was  de- 
pleted among  the  men  in  the  line  and  fresh  water 
was  not  made  available.  Also  there  was  a  short- 
age of  ammunition  as  well  as  food.  Many  of  the 
men  opened  their  reserve  rations  to  satisfy  the 
pangs  of  hunger.  This  confusion  at  the  rear  was 
largely  responsible  for  the  lack  of  food  among  the 
units  of  the  Seventy-first  Brigade,  holding  the  front 
line. 

During  the  operations  of  the  Seventy-first  Bri- 
gade as  well  as  the  fighting  that  followed  later  the 
Medical  Corps  troops  of  the  division  rendered  the 
most  excellent  service.  Accompanying  the  infan- 
try in  the  face  of  machine  gun  and  artillery  fire, 
they  took  as  many  chances  as  the  latter  in  the  first 
day's  fighting  and  thereafter  came  under  the  heavi- 
est kind  of  shell  fire  time  and  time  again.  One  of 
the  first  men  killed  the  morning  of  October  8,  was 


170  The      Story  of  the  36th 

Captain  Hanson,  on  duty  with  the  assaulting  bat- 
talion of  the  142d  Infantry.  Numerous  others 
among  the  Medical  corps  were  wounded  and  time 
and  again  they  were  made  the  targets  of  the  enemy 
in  spite  of  the  Red  Cross  bands  they  wore  on  their 
arms. 

The  work  of  the  ambulances  was  remarkable. 
These  drove  direct  to  the  regimental  dressing  sta- 
tion of  the  142d  Infantry  to  carry  away  the 
wounded  of  that  regiment  and  the  132d  Machine 
Gun  Battalion.  In  the  sector  of  the  141st  Infantry 
this  was  not  possible  but  aided  by  the  litter  bear- 
ers they  hurried  all  wounded  from  that  area  as 
rapidly  as  they  were  brought  back  from  the  line, 
and  given  first  aid  treatment.  At  the  triage  es- 
tablished in  a  dugout  near  Somme-Py  the  wounded 
were  given  further  attention  before  being  sent  to 
the  hospitals.  The  most  urgent  cases  were  cared 
for  first,  and  hurried  away  to  the  rear.  Operations 
were  performed  where  such  were  deemed  neces- 
sary and  ceaseless  work  on  the  part  of  the  sur- 
geons cared  for  the  hundreds  of  wounded  in  a 
remarkably  short  space  of  time.  At  night  there 
were  no  lights  at  the  dressing  stations  and  the 
task  of  dressing  wounded  was  rendered  doubly 
difficult.  So  good  was  the  work  of  the  Medical 
Corps  that  about  two  hours  was  declared  to  be 
the  average  time  which  elapsed  from  the  wound- 
ing of  a  man  in  the  line  to  his  arrival  at  the  triage 
near  Soanme-Py,  a  distance  of  three  or  four  miles. 
As  the  result  of  this  most  of  the  patients  arrived 
at  the  base  hospital  in  excellent  condition  and  the 
saving  of  life  was  at  the  maximum. 


St.  Etienne    and   After  171 

Throughout  the  fighting  the  detachment  of 
the  field  signal  battalion  on  duty  with  the  Seventy- 
first  Brigade,  had  been  busily  engaged  in  keeping 
up  the  wires  between  the  various  command  posts. 
The  morning  of  the  tenth  telephone  wires  were 
strung  into  the  front  line  positions,  one  station 
being  established  in  the  foxholes  on  Hill  140  and 
r.nother  at  the  battalion  headquarters  in  St.  Etienne. 
Two  others  were  established  along  the  front  of 
the  141st  Infantry.  The  men  who  ran  these  lines 
of  wire  and  made  repairs  where  the  wires  were  cut 
by  the  bursting  shells,  were  constantly  under  fire 
and  their  work  took  them  to  the  very  front  lines 
day  and  night.  Sometimes  the  same  line  would 
have  to  be  mended  five  or  six  times.  Each  time 
the  linesmen  would  have  to  search  along  every 
foot  of  the  wire  until  they  came  to  the  broken 
place  which  had  to  be  joined  with  the  loose  end  of 
the  other  part  of  the  line.  To  accomplish  this  in 
the  dark  required  the  greatest  patience  as  well  as 
hardihood.  The  signal  platoons  of  the  infantry 
regiments  assisted  in  this  work  and  were  constantly 
on  duty  with  their  respective  organizations  in  the 
front  lines. 

The  intelligence  sections  of  both  infantry  reg- 
iments were  greatly  handicapped  in  the  first  two 
days  fighting  around  St.  Etienne  and  to  the  east 
along  the  front  of  the  141st  Infantry.  They  gained 
little  information  from  the  Second  Division  and  the 
confusion  which  followed  the  assault  the  morning 
of  the  eighth  left  them  at  a  disadvantage  not  over- 
come until  two  days  later.  However  through  the 
work  of  the  scouts  and  observers  who  patrolled 
the    entire    brigade  front   something    was  learned    of 


172  The  Story   of  the  36th 

the  disposition  of  the  enemy's  troops,  especiaiiy  his 
machine  gun  nests  and  advanced  artillery  positions. 
Much  of  this  work  was  done  by  the  intelligence 
officers  in  person.  Advancing  with  the  assault 
waves  many  of  the  scouts  were  wounded  and  the 
organization  badly  crippled.  One  of  the  scout  of- 
ficers in  the  142d  Infantry  was  badly  wounded 
when  he  took  charge  of  a  disorganized  platoon  and 
led  it  forward  after  its  commander  had  been 
wounded  and  sent  to  the  rear. 

When  the  sun  had  cleared  the  mist  away  from 
the  low  ground  along  the  Arnes  the  morning  of 
October  11,  the  slopes  of  the  ridge  to  the  north  of 
St.  Etienne  were  found  to  be  utterly  devoid  of  the 
machine  gun  nests  that  had  proved  such  a  menace 
to  the  troops  in  the  front  line  the  day  before.  Since 
the  early  dawn  there  had  been  no  firing  and  pa- 
trols had  reported  all  signs  of  the  enemy  gone.  On 
either  side  the  French  could  be  seen  advancing 
boldly  toward  the  north  and  about  10  o'clock  the 
forward  battalions  of  the  Seventy-second  Brigade 
passed  through  the  advance  positions  of  the  Seven- 
ty-first Brigade  and  took  up  the  advance  toward 
the  town  of  Machault,  the  direction  of  the  division 
having  been  changed  from  slightly  northwest  to 
northeast.  This  change  had  been  occasioned  by 
the  fact  that  it  no  longer  was  necessary  to  con- 
tinue the  effort  to  cut  off  the  German  forces  in 
the  vicinity  of  Reims,  the  enemy  having  withdrawn 
along  that  front. 

With  the  forward  positions  taken  over  by  the 
Seventy-second  Brigade  the  commanders  of  the 
Seventy-first  Brigade  units  immediately  took  up 
the  task  of  reorganizing  their  commands.  The  men 


iS^.  Etienne  and  After  173 

of  the  two  regiments  had  become  so  mingled  into 
detachments  that  it  was  necessary  for  each  bat- 
talion commander  to  establish  an  assembly  point 
and  call  for  the  officers  and  men  of  his  battalion 
to  gather  there.  After  this  had  been  accomplished 
each  company  commander  had  to  separate  his 
men  from  the  others.  In  some,  instances  these 
companies  were  formed  by  sergeants,  all  of  the 
officers  having  been  wounded  or  killed.  Where 
this  proved  the  case  officers  were  borrowed  from 
other  companies  to  take  charge.  Hardly  any  of 
the  companies  had  more  than  one  officer  and  none 
had  more  than  two  officers,  after  this  readjust- 
ment. 

This  reorganization  consumed  the  greater  part 
of  the  afternoon  and  was  supervised  in  person  by 
the  regimental  commanders.  Most  of  the  battalions 
were  commanded  by  captains,  the  one  exception 
being  the  Second  Battalion  of  the  142d  Infantry, 
commanded  by  Major  Morrissey.  During  this  time 
the  area  was  under  fire  only  from  the  longest  range 
guns  and  the  shells  fell  at  irregular  intervals,  be- 
ing infrequent  and  directed  for  the  most  part  at 
the  town  of  St.  Etienne.  The  slielling  was  from 
a  new  direction,  the  firing  apparently  being  done 
by  long  range  artillery  located  near  the  Aisne 
River  in  the  vicinity  of  Vouziers. 

The  night  of  the  eleventh  the  troops  in  the 
front  line  were  fed  the  first  warm  food  they  had 
tasted  since  the  morning  of  the  sixth  when  they 
had  been  given  their  breakfast  in  camp  near 
Somme-Suippe.  During  the  entire  time  they  had 
been  in  the  fighting  zone  they  had  lived  on  canned 
meat    and    tomatoes    for    the    most    part     with    a 


174  The  Story  of  the  36th 

small  amount  of  French  bread  which  they  carried 
up  from  the  rear  with  the  greatest  difficulty  at 
night.  In  the  meal  served  the  night  of  the  elev- 
enth they  were  given  steak  and  vegetables  in  quan- 
tities to  appease  the  most  ravenous  and  then  all 
lay  down  to  enjoy  the  first  comfortable  sleep  they 
had  been  able  to  get  for  a  week.  With  only  a  gas 
sentry  posted  for  each  company^  the  men  dug 
comfortable  holes  in  the  ground  and  lined  these 
with  pine  needles  over  which  they  piled  overcoats 
and  blankets  that  they  had  taken  from  the  German 
dugouts  or  from  the  few  packs  that  were  available. 

In  the  meantime  the  officers  were  busy  count- 
ing the  dead  and  accounting  for  the  wounded  and 
missing.  They  had  not  seen  parts  of  their  com- 
panies and  platoons  for  more  than  two  days,  hav- 
ing been  separated  in  the  fighting  early  during  the 
morning  of  the  eighth.  Officers  had  to  go  from 
one  end  of  their  regimental  sectors  to  another  in  the 
effort  to  locate  all  of  their  troops  and  in  some  in- 
stances the  soldiers  of  the  two  regiments  became 
intermingled.  Also  some  of  the  men  became  iden- 
tified with  machine  gun  platoons  and  remained 
with  them.  It  was  in  this  counting  of  noses  that 
many  wounded  were  accounted  for  the  first  time. 
As  the  troops  were  gathered  together  they  told  of 
the  fighting  in  this  and  that  part  of  the  field  and 
how  this  or  that  man  had  been  killed  or  wounded 
and  evacuated  to  the  rear. 

The  casualties  had  been  frightful.  The  full 
extent  of  these  now  became  known  for  the  first 
time.  In  the  141st  Infantry  there  had  been  109 
officers  and  2,469  men  when  it  entered  the  lines 
the   night   of   the   sixth.     Of   these   seventy-eight   of- 


St.  Etienne  and  After  175 

fleers  and  1,789  men  remained  at  the  close  of  the 
fighting  on  the  tenth.  Of  the  ninety-one  officers 
and  2,333  men  who  were  reported  with  the  142d 
Infantry  the  morning  of  the  seventh,  fifty-three  offi- 
cers and  1,690  men  remained  the  morning  of  the 
eleventh.  In  the  132d  Machine  Gun  Battalion  there 
had  been  thirty  officers  and  712  men  to  enter  the 
battle  and  at  the  close  there  remained  twenty-one 
officers  and  600  men.  These  figures  include  all 
forces  such  as  the  supply  troops  gnd  the  troops  at 
the  headquarters  of  the  various  organizations.  It 
is  estimated  that  only  about  1,700  officers  and  men 
actually  engaged  in  the  fight  for  the  142d  Infan- 
try which  lost  approximately  nine  officers  killed ; 
thirty-two  officers  wounded;  147  men  killed;  and 
635  men  wounded  or  missing  in  action.  Some  of 
these  missing  were  prisoners  captured  in  the  Ger- 
man counterattack  the  afternoon  of  the  eighth, 
but  the  greater  number  had  been  wounded  and 
some  never  were  accounted  for.  it  is  assured  that 
they  were  killed  by  some  of  the  larger  enemy  shells. 
Those  actually  participating  in  the  fightmg  in 
the  141st  Infantry  numbered  a  little  less  than 
2,000  men  and  officers  and  the  losses  in  that  regi- 
ment were  only  slightly  less  than  in  the  142d  In- 
fantry. The  final  reports  on  the  casualities  of  the 
four  days  before  St.  Etienne  showed  the  losses  of 
the  142d  Infantry  to  be  something  more  than  800 
officers  and  men  and  the  losses  of  the  other  regi- 
ment to  be  something  more  than  700  officers  and 
men.  The  losses  in  the  machine  gun  battalion  had 
been  comparatively  heavy  considering  the  number 
of  men   engaged. 


176  The  Story   of  the  36th 

When  the  units  were  organized  the  afternoon 
of  October  11,  battalions  appeared  about  the  size 
of  a  full  company  while  regiments  were  only 
slightly  larger  than  full  strength  battalions.  In 
the  faces  of  the  men  gathered  together  in  the  de- 
pleted ranks  could  be  read  the  strain  of  the  past 
week  but  at  the  same  time  the  faces  wore  the  ex- 
pression of  tried  soldiers  that  would  not  be  found 
wanting  in  any  task  that  might  be  assigned  to  them. 
They  greeted  each  other  solemnly  and  each  man 
respected  the  others  in  a  manner  new  to  them. 

The  first  task  of  the  relieved  troops  the  morn- 
ing of  October  12  was  to  gather  together  ano  bury 
the  dead.  Details  of  men  from  each  organiza- 
tion were  sent  out  under  an  officer  to  locate  the 
fallen  of  their  own  command.  These  were  brought 
together  at  once  place  for  the  miost  part  and  in- 
terred under  the  personal  supervision  of  the  offi- 
cer who  would  be  assisted  by  the  regimental  chap- 
lain. The  duties  of  the  latter  were  to  take  charge 
of  any  valuables  that  might  be  found  on  the  per- 
sons of  the  dead  and  to  perform  the  religious  rites 
prescribed  by  the  regulations.  In  a  few  instances 
the  fallen  were  laid  to  rest  where  they  were 
found,  the  time  allotted  for  the  task  not  permitting 
them  to  be  carried  to  the  common  burying  place. 
Wooden  crosses  were  erected  over  each  grave  and 
the  identification  of  the  man  was  fastened  to  his 
cross.  Marines  as  well  as  the  French  were  also 
taken  care  of  by  the  burying  parties  of  the  Sev- 
enty-first Brigade. 


St.  Etiemie  and  After  177 

THE    ADVANCE    OF    THE    SEVENTY-SECOND 
BRIGADE. 

In  the  meantime  the  advance  of  the  Seventy- 
second  Brigade  had  begun.  Its  commander  had 
been  instructed  to  pursue  the  retreating  enemy 
and  attack  with  all  possible  vigor  wherever  the 
Germans  could  be  found.  In  both  the  infantry 
regiments  the  formation  for  this  advance  was 
practically  the  same  as  had  been  the  case  the  aft- 
ernoon before  during  the  attempted  passage  of 
lines.  The  forces  of  the  143d  Infantry  required 
considerable  reorganization  before  the  advance 
could  be  taken  up  but  as  early  as  9  o'clock  one 
company  of  the  144th  Infantry  had  entered  the 
cemetery  to  the  east  of  St.  Etienne  and  passed 
on  over  the  Arnes.  This  was  one  of  the  companies 
of  the  First  Battalion  which  took  over  the  positions 
occupied  by  the  142d  Infantry  in  the  village  and 
then  pushed  on  to  a  position  to  the  north  of  the 
town. 

A  short  time  later  the  Second  Battalion  of  the 
144th  Infantry  emerged  from  its  positions  behind 
Hill  140  and  advanced  over  the  flat  to  the  east  of 
St.  Etienne,  passing  through  the  right  of  the  142d 
infantry  sector.  Advancing  over  the  Arnes  it  be- 
came the  leading  battalion  of  the  regiment,  the 
First  Battalion  taking  the  support  position  and  the 
Third  Battalion  the  reserve  position.  Until  the 
Second  Battalion  reached  a  point  almost  two  kilo- 
meters north  of  St.  Etienne  it  did  not  come  in  con- 
tact with  any  of  the  enemy's  troops.  However,  at 
the  top  of  the  ridge  about  half  way  between  St. 
Etienne    and   Machault,   its   scouts   drew    fire   from 


178  The' Story  of  the  36th 

several   machine   gun   nests   located   on    either  side 
of  the  narrow  guage  railroad  that  was  operated  by 
the   Germans  to  carry  ammunition  and  other  sup- 
plies  from    Machault   to   the    positions   in    the    old 
Hindenburg    line.      Immediately      these      positions 
were  uncovered  the  task  of  reducing  them  was  be- 
gun.     Flankers    soon    brought    fire    to    bear    that 
enabled   the   troops   in   front  to    advance.      During 
this  skirmishing,  which  lasted  more  than  an  hour, 
enemy    observation    was    secured    by    an    airplane 
which  appeared  overhead,  and  almost  immediately 
this    was    followed    by    artillery   fire    that   brought 
numerous    casualties   within   the   ranks    of   the    at- 
tacking force.     During  the  artillery  fire  two  small 
ammunition  dumps,  abandoned  by  the  enemy,  were 
exploded    in    the    vicinity,    causing    the    impression 
generally  that  the  ground  was  mined.  To  add  to  the 
difficulties    of   the    situation   the    assaulting   troops 
came  under  fire  from  the  right  flank,  in  the  sector 
of  the   143d   Infantry,   which   ground   had   not   yet 
been   reached   by  that   organization.      Company    C 
of  the  First  Battalion  was  sent  into  the  gap  to  the 
right  to  aid  Major  Mullican's  Second  Battalion   in 
the    attack    but    arrived   in    position    simultarously 
with   the   advance   elements   of  the   143d. 

During  the  artillery  fire  some  of  the  German 
machine  gunners  apparently  withdrew  to  posi- 
tions held  by  the  enemy  in  Machault  while  others 
were  shot  or  bayoneted  at  their  posts,  being  unable 
to  get  away  before  their  positions  were  reached. 
Some  of  the  men  in  the  144th  assault  waves  told  of 
machine  gunners  who  held  their  positions  and  ac- 
tually fired  their  Maxims  until  they  were  killed,  one 
actually   being   bayoneted    by   a  flanker   who   had 


St.  Etiemie  and  After  179 

gaihed     the     rear    and    killed     the     operator  of    the 
machine   gun   in   his   seat. 

When    these    positions    had    been   overcome    the 
assault    battalion  continued  the    advance    until  about 
i:  kilometer    south    of    Machault,    where    it    came    un- 
der  machine   gun   fire  from   positions  in  and    around 
the   town.     Some  of  the   machine  guns   were   planted 
in  the  upper  stories  of  the  houses  while  others  were 
located  to  the  east  and  west  of  the  town.     This  fire 
was    returned  by  the    assaulting  troops    as  soon    as 
they    could    get    into  such    positions   as    would    allow 
them  to    bring    their   rifles    and    automatic    weapons 
to     bear.       But    the     advancing     infantrymen     were 
spared    any    real    effort    directed     to      dislodge    the 
enemy.       The      German's      own     artillery      suddenly 
opened    on    the    town   and    caused    the  ''boche"   ma- 
chine   gunners    to  scurry    away   to    the    north    in  or- 
der to  save  their  lives.     Due  to  this  kindly  aid   from 
the  Hun  artillery  Machault  was  evacuated  before  an 
assault    could   be    launched    against    it.     Almost   im- 
mediately    afterward     the    enemy     ceased    altogether 
to    direct    his    artillery    on    the    positions  in    the    vi- 
cinity,  apparently    being    uncertain    of   the    location 
of  his  own  lines  and  being  afraid  to  fire  at  random. 
As   soon  as   the   enemy's   fire  had   been    silenced   the 
advance    elements     of     the     144th     passed     through 
the  town   and  beyond  several  hundred   meters  to  the 
north   and   northeast,    where   the  regiment   was   halt- 
ed   for  the    night.     In    passing  through    the    village 
great    care  was  taken  to    see    that    no    hidden    posi- 
tions   of    the    enemy  were    remaining    to  open    fire 
on   the  rear  of  the   advancing  troops  after  they  had 
gone  beyond. 


180  The  Story  of  the  36th 

While  this  advance  was  being  conducted  the 
143d  Infantry  was  moving  forward  in  the  adjoin- 
ing sector  to  the  east.  Due  to  the  widely  scattered 
detachments  of  this  regiment  in  the  front  line  po- 
sitions the  night  of  the  tenth,  there  had  been  little 
time  to  issue  orders  in  written  form.  Instead  the 
regimental  commander  had  called  his  officers  into 
a  conference  where  he  told  them  the  plan  of  the 
advance.  The  same  formation  as  that  used  the 
previous  day  was  carried  out  and  the  forward 
movement  begun  as  soon  as  possible.  The  assault 
battalion  was  under  the  command  of  Major  Siebe 
who  did  not  get  his  instructions  until  after  the  hour 
designated  to  start.  This  necessitated  a  slight  de- 
lay in  addition  to  that  occasioned  by  the  confusion 
of  the  night  before. 

In  its  advance  the  144th  Infantry  had  been 
able  to  move  out  abreast  of  the  French  after  the 
first  kilometer  but  the  143d  was  practically  a  kilo- 
meter in  rear  through  the  greater  part  of  the  morn- 
ing. Shortly  after  noon  however  it  came  abreast 
of  the  French  division  on  the  right  although  not 
quite  up  with  the  advance  elements  of  the  144th 
Infantry.  No  resistance  was  encountered  by  the 
143d  until  it  moved  up  even  with  the  established 
front.  A  little  more  than  two  kilometers  north  of 
the  old  line  east  of  St.  Etienne,  the  French  had 
encountered  a  line  of  enemy  machine  guns  which 
held  up  the  attack  along  the  St.  Etienne-Semide 
road.  The  advance  units  of  the  143rd  Infantry  en- 
countered these  upon  coming  alongside  the  ad- 
vance French  elements.  Company  I  of  the  143d 
acting  in  conjunction  with  the  French,  soon  over- 
came these  however  and  the  advance  continued. 


St.  Etienne  and  After    ■  181 

Upon  approaching  the  line  running  east  and 
west  through  the  village  of  Machault  the  forward 
battalion  came  under  fire  from  the  German  posi- 
tions in  the  town  but  little  damage  was  done  as  the 
enemy  artillery  began  to  bear  on  the  village  al- 
most immediately.  The  right  flank  of  the  regiment 
had  been  subjected  to  fire  from  wooded  positions 
to  the  east  of  Machault  at  the  same  time.  These 
last  positions  were  in  the  sector  of  the  Seventy- 
third  French  division  on  the  right,  which  had  not 
yet  reached  the  line  running  through  the  town. 
The  fire  from  the  wood  ceased  a  short  time  after 
the  enemy  had  been  routed  from  the  village  and 
soon  afterward  the  French  advanced  on  a  line 
with  the  143d.  which  was  still  somewhat  in  rear 
of  the  144th  Infantry  and  the  French  on  the  left. 

During  the  advance  the  companies  of  the  133d 
Machine  Gun  Battalion  remained  on  duty  with  the 
units  of  the  two  regiments  to  which  they  had  been 
assigned  or  the  attempted  passage  of  lines  at  St. 
Etienne,  and  when  th?  troops  hal;ed  for  the  night 
in  the  vicinity  of  Machault  they  took  up  positions 
slightly  in  rear  of  the  front  line  ^^here  they  %vould 
be  effective  against  any  counter  movements  on  the 
part  of  the  enemy. 

Immediately  after  the  arrival  of  the  143d  In- 
fantry the  enemy  could  be  observed  moving  to  the 
rear  from  positions  directly  to  the  front  of  tne  144th 
Infantry.  The  advance  detachments  of  this  regi- 
ment opened  fire  and  some  of  the  officers  urged 
that  a  further  advance  be  taken  up  in  order  to 
demoralize  this  withdrawal.  This  was  not  at- 
tempted however  due  to  the  lack  of  liaison  with 
the  troops  on  either  side  and  to  thf  rear.     Th;   lines 


182  The  Story  of  the  36th 

to  the  rear  had  been  extremely  difficult  to  main- 
tain during  the  advance  and  in  the  night  the 
French  moved  forward  approximately  two  kilomet- 
ers without  giving  any  intimation  of  what  they 
were  doing. 

After  dark  an  effort  was  made  to  bring  up  the 
rolling  kitchens  and  prepare  sufficient  hot  food  for 
the  personnel  of  both  regiments,  as  well  as  the 
machine  gun  battalions,  but  jthis  was  not  whol- 
ly successful.  The  troops  in  reserve,  who 
were  close  to  the  kitchens  were  fed  but 
the  other  battalions  had  to  depend  on  their  re- 
serve rations.  Water  also  was  scarce  although  a 
small  supply  was  distributed  among  some  of  the 
units.  At  times  during  the  night  it  was  reported 
that  enemy  snipers  had  obtained  positions  in  the 
village  of  Machault  and  were  firing  on  the  Ameri- 
cans near  the  town  but  patrols  failed  to  locate 
any  of  these  and  if  they  were  there  they  made  good 
their  escape. 

In  the  night  the  command  posts  of  both  regi- 
ments were  moved  forward  in  order  that  the  regi- 
mental commanders  could  be  in  closer  touch  with 
the  advancing  troops.  In  the  143d  Infantry  the 
colonel,  however,  did  not  confer  with  his  battalion 
and  company  commanders  until  daylight,  having 
passed  the  night  in  visiting  the  front  of  the  entire 
brigade.  During  the  advance  the  regiment  had 
been  under  the  personal  direction  of  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Taylor,  the  regimental  commander  remain- 
ing at  the  established  command  post  until  it  should 
be  moved  forward. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  total  number  of  casual- 
ties   resulting  from    the    advance    of    the    Seventy- 


St.  Etienne  and  After  183 

second  Brigade  to  the  vicinity  of  Machault,  was 
in  the  neighborhood  of  200  for  both  regiments  of 
infantry  and  the  machine  gun  battalion.  Most  of 
these  had  resulted  from  the  enemy's  artillery  fire, 
the  resistance  by  machine  gunners  and  snipers 
having  been  slight  in  the  extreme. 

Arriving  at  Machault  the  troops  entered  a 
more  fertile  country  than  had  been  around  them 
at  St.  Etienne  and  Blanc  Mont  ridge.  This  was 
the  upper  Champagne  where  the  underbrush  vied 
with  the  pine  growths  in  covering  the  ground,  and 
where  there  was  a  rank  growth  of  weeds  in  the 
open  places  although  there  was  no  cultivation.  The 
last  was  not  encountered  until  the  final  stretches 
of  the  broad  plateau  were  crossed  just  before  the 
sharp  outline  of  the  Aisne  valley  was  reached. 
The  town  of  Machault  itself  is  on  the  main  high- 
way from  Reims  to  Verdun  and  was  used  for  the 
four  years  of  the  war  as  a  distribution  point  for  the 
entire  German  forces  in  the  Champagne.  A  broad 
guage  railroad  operating  into  the  town  from  the 
north,  transferred  its  freight  to  narrow  guage 
roads  at  this  point  while  in  the  Mont  St.  Remy,  a 
short  distance  to  the  northeast,  the  enemv  had 
maintained  an  ammunition  dump  of  gigantic  pro- 
portions. From  it  in  every  direction  toward  the 
battle  lines  there  had  operated  narrow  guage  rail- 
roads. But  even  this  gigantic  dump  had  not  con- 
tained all  of  the  munitions  the  Germans  planned  to 
use.  In  the  woods  on  both  sides  of  the  little  branch 
lines  were  piled  tier  after  tier  of  artillery  shells 
as  well  as  boxes  of  small  arms  ammunition.  Ap- 
parently there  had  been  an  effort  to  remove  some 
of    this    but    the    task    was    too    colossal    in    the 


184  The  Stonj   of  the  36th 

short  time  allowed  by  the  determined  assaults  of 
the  Allied  arms.  In  addition  to  the  ammunition 
there  were  piles  and  piles  of  other  material  such 
as  lumber  and  stores  used  in  construction  work. 
The  woods  literally  were  full  of  German  property 
for  which  the  French  later  gave  the  Thirty-sixth 
Division  commander  a  receipt  for  approximately 
$10,000,000  this  being  the  minimum  estimate  of 
the  property's  worth.  Testifying  to  the  haste  with 
which  the  *'boche"  had  been  compelled  to  leave 
these  supply  dumps,  some  of  the  tram  cars  still 
laden  and  on  the  way  to  the  front  lines  were  stand- 
ing ready  to  continue  the  journey. 

To  the  north  of  Machault  the  ground  is  flat  for 
some  distance  before  it  breaks  up  into  a  series  of 
knolls  and  little  valleys  south  of  where  the  broad 
valley  of  the  Aisne  is  reached.  In  this  flat  coun- 
try are  the  villages  of  Dricourt.  Leffincourt  and 
Pauvres,  while  to  the  north  of  them,  hidden  in  the 
tiny  draws  that  mark  the  abrupt  meeting  of  the 
plateau  with  the  valley  of  the  Aisne  are  the  towns 
of  Vaux-Champagne  and  Coulommes.  In  the  val- 
ley of  the  river  and  under  clear  observation  from 
the  opposite  slopes  to  the  north  are  the  towns  of 
Mont  Laurent,  Saulces  Champenoise,  Saint  Vau- 
bourg,  Chardeny,  Chuffilly,  Mery  and  La  Roche  as 
well  as  other  little  hamlets,  around  which  the 
Germans  had  caused  the  Russian  prisoners  of  war  to 
cultivate  the  crops.  On  the  banks  of  the  Aisne 
and  its  accompanying  Ardennes  Canal  are  the 
towns  of  Givry,  Attigny  and  Rilly,  the  last  named 
being  in  a  loop  of  the  river.  Of  these  the  more 
important  is  Attigny,  which  had  a  population  of 
several  thousad  people  before  the  war. 


St.  Etienne  mid  After  185 

THE   ADVANCE    OF   THE   ENTIRE    DIVISION. 

Into  this  territory  the  Seventy-second  Brigade 
again  took  up  its  advance  the  morning  of  October 
12.  Back  at  St.  Etienne  as  the  details  were  about 
the  business  of  salvaging  the  property  strew^n  about 
the  fields  and  burying  the  dead,  the  reorganized 
units  of  the  Seventy-first  Brigade  were  getting  un- 
der way  to  follow  up  the  advance  of  the  other  half 
of  the  division.  Before  the  continuation  of  the 
movement  forward  the  142d  Infantry  received  a 
splendid  tribute  from  the  commanding  officer  of 
the  French  division  on  the  left.  The  latter  declared 
that  the  work  of  the  American  regiment  in  hold- 
ing the  ground  around  St.  Etienne  in  the  face  of 
the  enemy's  bombardment  and  counter-attack,  after 
the  unfavorable  manner  in  which  the  assault  had 
been  launched  was  nothing  less  than  niar\elous. 
For  the  work  of  the  whole  Seventy-first  Brigade 
at  this  point  the  entire  division  received  a  citation. 
It  was  here  that  the  long  hours  of  training  for 
more  than  a  year  in  the  camps  of  Fort  Sill  and 
Fort  Worth  as  well  as  in  the  Thirteenth  training 
area  told  their  true  value.  When  officers  had  been 
killed  and  wounded  until  none  was  left,  the  troops 
had  been  taken  in  hand,  by  sergeants,  corporals 
and  sometimes  privates  who  handled  the  situation 
in  a  manner  creditable  to  the  best  troops  in  the 
world.  No  enlisted  men  ever  showed  to  better  ad- 
vantage. 

After  a  week  of  the  greatest  hardship,  one 
hot  meal  had  served  to  bring  the  spirit  of  the  en- 
tire brigade  back  up  to  normal  and  as  the  col- 
umns   moved    out    across    the    ground    between    St. 


186  The  Story  of  the  36th 

Etienne  and  Machault  there  were  songs  keeping 
cadence  with  the  marching  feet  and  jokes  were 
bandied  about  as  though  they  had  spent  the  day 
before  in  New  York  or  Paris,  There  were  not 
as  many  to  sing  but  they  sang  with  the  same  spirit 
as  when  they  marched  into  battle  the  first  time  in 
their  lives,  just  the  week  before. 

In  the  advance  northward  from  St.  Etienne 
the  columns  again  left  the  highways  as  they  had 
done  in  the  march  from  Suippes  to  Somme-Py  but 
this  time  the  marching  was  not  so  difficult.  The 
ground  was  firmer  and  there  were  not  so  many  en- 
tanglements to  bar  the  path.  Some  time  during 
the  night  of  the  eleventh  all  shelling  has  ceased 
in  the  vicinity  of  St.  Etienne,  even  the  longest 
range  guns  apparently  having  been  moved  back 
to  a  point  where  they  could  not  be  brought  to  bear 
on  this  part  of  the  line. 

At  this  time  the  troops  in  the  First  American 
Army,  to  the  east  across  the  Aisne,  had  pushed 
forward  to  the  Kremhilde  Stellung,  the  First,  the 
Thirty-second,  the  Forty-second,  the  Seventy-seventh 
and  other  divisions  having  rolled  back  the  stubborn 
Hun  until  he  was  ensconced  behind  this  last  barri- 
cade between  the  Allies  and  Sedan.  Montfaucon,  so 
long  the  headquarters  of  the  Crown  Prince,  long 
since  had  been  in  the  hands  of  the  Thirty-seventh 
Division  and  the  troops  that  succeeded  that  organi- 
zation in  the  line.  The  Thirty-second,  the  Ninetieth 
and  other  divisions  were  being  placed  in  positions  of 
readiness  to  hurl  themselves  against  the  enemy  in 
this  last  stronghold  and  drive  him  beyond  his  rail- 
road centers  at  Sedan  and  Mezieres,  and  perhaps 
cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  German  forces  in  Flanders. 


St.  Etienne  and  After  187 

The  last  weight  of  the  Allies  was  being  apphed 
to  break  the  German  line  and  end  the  war.  But 
these  things  were  unknown  to  the  men  of  the  Thir- 
ty-Sixth as  they  plodded  ahead  over  the  shell  torn 
surface  of  the  upper  Champagne. 

As  the  Seventy-first  Brigade  was  moving  out  of 
its    positions     of    the    night  before    the    assaulting 
echelons    of  the   Seventy-second    Brigade    were  tak- 
ing   up    the    further  advance   from    their    positions 
near  Machault.     During    the    night    the    French    on 
either  side  had  moved  to  the  front  and  the  forward 
troops    of  both  regiments    were    urged    to    move    up 
even     with     them.     High     overhead    the     ''sausage" 
balloons    of  the  enemy    always    were  visible    and    as 
soon  as  the  advance  began  long  range  artillery  start- 
ed   to  register    among   the    deployed    elements.     Now 
and  then  the    advance    would     be    held    up    by     iso- 
lated machine    gun    positions    but    these    were    over- 
come without   great  difficulty.     As  the  town  of  Ma- 
chault had  been    destroyed    by  flames    so  had    other 
villages     in    the     area,     although    Dricourt   and     the 
towns   farther   north    had    been    spared.     Every  joint 
of     the   standard     guage    railroad     had     been   blown 
up,  so   that  it   was    rendered    wholly    useless    until  it 
could   be   repaired.     In   this   way   the  enemy   kept   it 
from   being    available  to    move  the    heavier    pieces 
of   artillery   which  had  to    be    brought  up    from    the 
rear.     Much     of    the     rolling    stock    for    this     road 
was  found     to    be     serviceable    and    later    the     road 
was  repaired    to  an   extent    where    it    could   be    used 
by  the  French. 

Throughout  the  morning  the  planes  of  the 
Allies  as  well  as  the  enemy  were  busy  in  their 
maneuvers     above     the     advancing     lines.     On     both 


188  The  Story  of  the  36th 

sides  the  chief  effort  was  directed  toward  the  de- 
struction of  the  observation  balloons.  Late  m  the 
afternoon  some  of  the  Allied  air  pilots  were  suc- 
cessful in  setting  fire  to  one  of  the  German  "sau- 
sages" which  soon  plunged  earthward  in  a  mass 
of  flames.  Apparently  the  observers  were  caught 
in  the  wreckage  as  no  one  was  seen  to  leap  and 
descend  by  means  of  the  parachute.  The  next 
morning  practically  the  same  thing  happened  to 
one  of  the  allied  balloons.  These  performances 
were  watched  with  the  keenest  interest  by  the 
doughboys  on  the  ground.  When  the  Allied  balloon 
was  brought  to  the  ground  the  lone  observer  man- 
aged to  leap  before  the  descent  and  landed  on  a 
spot  not  far  from  the  location  of  the  142d  Infantry. 
"That  just  about  skins  any  circus  trick  I  ever 
peeped  at!"  was  the  way  one  Texas  cowpuncher 
summed  up  the  performance.  The  men  of  the 
Thirty-sixth  were  seeing  things  every  minutp  that 
outdid  most  of  the  Barnum  wonders  they  had 
learned  to  marvel  at  in  the  piping  time  of  peace. 
The  Allied  balloons  kept  pace  with  the  advancing 
infantry  without  great  difficulty.  The  marching  of 
the  latter  was  comparatively  slow.  Each  balloon 
was  anchored  to  a  heavy  motor  truck  which  moved 
with  remarkable  speed  along  the  better  roads,  es- 
pecially in  view  of  the  wireless  apparatus  attached. 
By  the  late  afternoon  the  Seventy-second  Bri- 
gade had  advanced  to  a  line  running  east  and 
west  through  the  town  of  Vaux-Champagne.  in  a 
little  valley  to  the  south  of  which  the  main  body 
of  the  144th  Infantry  took  position  during  the 
night,  after  slipping  to  the  east  slightly  to  gel;  into 
the  proper  sector  of  the  regiment.     The   143d   In- 


St.  Etienne  and  After  189 

fantry  was  to  the  east  of  the  town  and  somewhat 
more  advanced  than  the  144th,  it  having  placed 
outposts  along  the  northern  slopes  of  Hill  167,  near 
Coulommes,  from  which  the  entire  valley  for  many 
miles  could  be  observed.  This  was  the  highest  ele- 
vation in  the  vicinity  and  practically  every  foot  of 
the  enemy's  territory  across  the  Aisne  could  be  ob- 
served on  a  clear  day  without  difficulty.  This  part 
of  the  Aisne  valley  offered  splendid  protection  and 
a  varied  assortment  of  positions  which  couid  be 
used  to  advantage  from  a  defensive  standpoint. 

On  the  ground  between  the  position  of  the 
144th  Infantry  and  the  town  of  Vaux-Champagne 
the  enemy  had  established  an  aviation  field  during 
the  early  years  of  the  war  but  had  abandoned  it 
later  for  a  field  just  south  of  Aitigny.  In  these 
aviation  sheds  some  of  the  advancing  troops  found 
shelter  for  the  night  and  escaped  the  rain  that  be- 
gan to  fall  on  their  less  lucky  com.rades  during  the 
afternoon.  Most  of  the  troops  in  the  Seventy- 
second  Brigade  were  suffering  from  want  of  water, 
the  supply  at  Machault  having  been  avoided  for 
fear  that  it  might  have  been  poisoned  by  the  flee- 
ing "boche."  No  other  opportunity  had  been  af- 
forded to  get  a  supply.  Also  most  of  them  had 
been  without  hot  food  and  coffee.  During  the 
night  this  situation  was  relieved  by  the  arrival  of 
the  rolling  kitchens  and  water  carts  from  the 
rear.  Most  of  the  men  were  given  hot  "chow"  and 
made  cheerful  for  the  night  in  spite  of  the  rain. 

During  the  morning  the  Seventy-first  Brigade 
had  advanced  until  it  reached  the  flat  country  just 
to  the  southeast  of  Dricourt  where  it  took  position 
among  the  pine  groves  out  of  sight  of  the  enemy's 


190  The  Story  of  the  36th 

planes  and  observers.  There  it  remained  through 
the  balance  of  the  day.  The  rolling  kitchens  were 
brought  up  to  this  point  and  after  considerable 
difficulty  a  hot  supper  was  served.  Also  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  water  was  received.  During  the 
afternoon  many  of  the  men  took  occasion  to  shave 
and  otherwise  clean  up.  It  was  the  first  opportuni- 
ty they  had  enjoyed  in  more  than  a  week.  Pocket 
mirrors  were  propped  up  in  trees  and  water  was 
heated  with  solidified  alcohol,  no  fires  being  per- 
mitted. These  troops  by  this  time  were  entirely 
without  shelter.  In  order  to  avoid  the  rain  that 
was  falling  steadily  they  dug  holes  in  the  ground 
and  covered  these  with  pine  boughs,  which  ren- 
dered the  place  water  proof.  Each  man  working 
for  himself  was  rapidly  assimilatiiig  the  knov  ledge 
of  how  to  look  after  his  wants  under  the  most  try- 
ing circumstances. 

Other  units  of  the  division,  including  the  at- 
tached artillery  brigade,  began  the  movement  for- 
ward with  the  Seventy-first  Brigade.  The  going 
was  especially  difficult  for  the  artillery.  Unable 
to  travel  along  the  highways  to  the  east,  the  heavy 
gun  carriages  and  other  vehicles  frequently  sank 
in  the  soft  earth  until  infantry  delails  were  neces- 
sary to  help  the  horses  extricate  them.  These 
and  the  water  carts  as  well  as  the  rolling  kitchens 
struggling  forward  through  the  mud  made  the  in- 
fantrymen glad   of  their  positions. 

While  the  infantry  of  the  Thirty-sixth  had 
halted  in  the  vicinity  of  Vaux-Champagne  the  aft- 
ernoon of  the  twelfth  the  141st  French  division 
on  the  right  of  the  Seventy-third  French  division 
had  reached  the  Aisne  river,  and  French   Cavalry 


St.  Etienne  and  After  191 

from  the  left  had  patrolled  to  the  town  of  Attigny 
which  they  found  to  be  burning,  the  Germans  hav- 
ing set  fire  to  it  in  numerous  places  before  leav- 
ing. In  this  town  there  were  large  powder  maga- 
zines which  the  enemy  had  established  as  early  as 
1915  but  these  failed  to  explode.  The  bridges 
across  the  river  and  the  canal  had  been  destroyed 
everywhere,  thus  blocking  the  advance  across  the 
river.  On  the  south  bank  much  of  the  underbrush 
had  been  cut  and  piled  on  the  north  bank  to  give 
the  enemy  protection  and  at  the  same  time  leave 
the  area  of  the  Allies  exposed  to  fire.  Apple  or- 
chards in  the  vicinity  of  Attigny  had  been  cut 
down  as  had  the  trees  which  lined  the  highways. 

When  the  French  cavalry  patrol  had  entered 
Attigny  it  had  been  fired  upon  from  the  brickyard 
to  the  east  of  the  town  as  well  as  from  the  sugar 
mill  in  the  west  end  of  the  town.  Later  the  sugar 
mill  was  abandoned  by  the  enemy  but  the  Ger- 
mans remained  in  position  in  the  elbow  of  the 
river  just  to  the  east  of  Attigny  and  in  which  were 
Rilly  and  Forest  Ferme,  the  last  of  which  was  the 
scene  of  the  final  fighting  of  the  Seventy-first  Bri- 
gade, 

The  night  of  the  twelfth  the  corps  comm.ander 
directed  that  the  commanders  of  all  divisions  in  his 
corps  make  effort  to  cross  the  river  and  establish 
bridgeheads  with  a  view  to  pursuing  the  enemy  on 
the  north  bank.  Due  to  the  fact  that  his  forces 
were  taking  over  the  sector  of  the  Seventy-third 
French  division  on  the  right,  General  Smith  was 
not  able  to  carry  out  these  instructions  as  prescribed 
by  the  corps  commander  but  the  commanding 
general  of  the  Seventh  French  division  on  the  left 


192  The   Story   of  the  36th 

announced  his  intention  of  making  a  surprise 
crossing  the  morning  of  the  thirteenth  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Givry,  and  called  upon  the  Thirty-sixth 
for  the  assistance  of  its  heavy  artillery.  This  was 
placed  at  the  French  division  commander's  disposal. 

During  the  morning  of  Sunday,  October  13, 
the  troops  again  were  in  movement  forward,  this 
time  with  the  intention  of  placing  the  brigades  side 
by  side  in  the  line  as  had  been  planned  originally 
by  the  corps  commander  as  well  as  the  division 
commander.  The  orders  prescribed  that  the  Sev- 
enty-first Brigade  would  be  on  the  rigliL  of  the 
sector  and  would  occupy  the  territory  between  a 
point  slightly  west  of  Attigny  to  a  point  about 
halfway  across  the  front  of  the  enemy  positions 
in  the  elbow  of  the  river.  West  of  Attigny  and 
about  a  kilometer  west  of  the  town  of  Givr\  was 
to  be  the  front  of  the  sector  occupied  by  the  Sev- 
enty-second Brigade.  In  the  Sector  of  the  Sev- 
enty-first Brigade  the  141st  Infantry  was  on  the 
right  and  the  142d  Infantry  on  the  left,  while  the 
Seventy-second  Brigade  was  disposed  with  the 
143d  Infantry  on  the  right  and  the  144th  Infantry 
on  the  left. 

During  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  the 
troops  began  to  move  forward  to  their  positions. 
The  Seventy-second  Brigade  completed  its  move- 
ments about  noon,  but  the  other  brigade  which 
had  farther  to  march  was  not  in  position  until 
nightfall.  Part  of  the  movement  was  continued 
into  the  night  during  which  the  enemy  began  once 
more  to  shell  the  area,  but  with  little  apparent 
damage.  Headquarters  for  the  Seventy-first  Bri- 
gade was  established  in  the  town  of  Vaux-Cham- 


St.  Etienne  aiid  After  193 

pagne  as  was  the  artillery  brigade  headquarters 
and  the  headquarters  of  the  142d  Infantry.  Di- 
vision headquarters  had  been  established  in  the 
town  of  Dricourt.  Here  the  engineers  also  were 
established  and  began  their  work  of  repairing 
the  roads  in  the  vicinity  as  well  as  patrolling  the 
river  and  canal  with  the  view  to  constructing 
bridges  across  these  in  the  event  bridgeheads  were 
obtained.  The  command  post  of  the  Sevenly-sec- 
ond  Brigade  originally  had  been  placed  m  Vaux- 
Champagne  also  but  it  later  was  moved  to  Pauvres. 

The  troops  of  the  division  were  disposed  in 
three  zones  along  the  entire  front.  The  forward 
zone  along  the  canal  and  river  was  known  as  the 
outpost  zone  and  this  ran  back  from  the  river  for 
a  distance  of  from  two  to  three  kilometers.  Back 
of  this  was  the  zone  of  supports  ?,nd  back  of  this 
the  reserve  and  main  line  of  resistance  in  the  event 
of  an  attack.  The  troops  in  the  outpost  zone  were 
widely  scattered,  much  of  the  territory  near  the 
river  being  covered  by  patrols.  In  this  manner  a 
close  watch  was  kept  of  the  enemy  across  the 
river  and  at  the  same  time  the  danger  of  casual 
ties  was  lessened  to   a   great  degree. 

During  the  advance  from  St.  Etienne  lo  the 
river,  the  supply  department  had  labored  under 
the  greatest  difficulties.  The  poor  roads  and  the 
congestion  of  traffic  rendered  the  movement  of 
supplies  impossible  in  some  cases  but  the  addition 
of  a  considerable  number  of  water  carts  and  roll- 
ing kitchens  relieved  the  situation  to  a  great  ex- 
tent. There  were  not  enough  of  these  kitchens 
to  provide  one  for  each  company  but  there  were 
enough   for  the   depleted   number   of  troops   to   be 


194  The  Story  of  the  36th 

fed  so  that  at  least  two  warm  meals  each  day 
could  be  served.  Water  was  plentiful  in  the 
region  and  the  troops  no  longer  suffered  ironi  this. 
In  this  movement  to  the  Aisne  the  hospital  and 
ambulance  units  were  brought  up  from  Aulnay, 
where  they  had  been  left  when  the  division  first 
started  into  the  front  line.  All  of  the  sick  at  Aul- 
nay had  been  evacuated  to  the  base  hospitals  or 
returned  to  their  regiments.  The  hospital  then 
was  established  in  the  vicinity  of  Machault.  The 
supply  dump  also  was  moved  up  to  a  position  near 
Coulommes  while  the  ammunition  dump  was  placed 
in  the  vicinity  of  Dricourt.  Frequently  the  am- 
munition train  in  bringing  up  munitions  from  the 
rear  came  under  fire  from  the  enemy's  batteries. 
These  also  constantly  made  the  service  of  supply 
hazardous.  Most  of  the  hauling  was  done  at  night, 
the  men  and  animals  resting  during  the  day. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE  GENERAL  ADVANCE. 

All  units  of  the  division  having  been  located 
in  their  new  sectors  along  the  Aisne  river  there 
was  a  general  shifting  of  command  posts  and  ad- 
justment of  supply  services  to  the  rear.  The  com- 
manders of  the  142d  and  143d  Infantry  regiments 
maintained  their  headquarters  in  the  town  of 
Vaux-Champagne.  The  141st  Infantry  established 
its  P.  C.  at  Coulommes  et  Marquent  and  the  144th 
Infantry  command  post  was  located  at  Moscou 
Ferme.  This  necessitated  some  shifting  of  regi- 
mental aid  stations  as  well  as  locations  for  kitch- 
ens and  dumps  from  which  supplies  were  distrib- 
uted. Due  to  the  fact  that  many  troops  constantly 
were  making  their  way  in  and  out  of  Vaux-Cham- 
pagne, where  the  artillery  brigade  headquarters 
was  located  as  well  as  the  command  post  of  the 
Seventy-first  Infantry  Brigade,  the  town  was  sub- 
jected to  heavy  shelling  by  the  enemy  but  with 
comparatively  few  hits.  Most  of  the  shells  fell  on 
the  ground  in  the  vicinity. 

The  railhead  of  the  division  remained  at  La 
Cheppe,  some  forty  miles  away  over  roads  that  in 
many  places  were  extremely  difficult  of  passage, 
due  to  the  heavy  shelling  they  had  undergone.  In 
spite  of  this  handicap  the  supply  department  so  ar- 
ranged its  schedule  that  the  troops  in  the  front 
line  positions  were  provided  with  the  garrison  ra- 
tion  of  fresh  meat  and  bread  with  but  little  irreg- 
ularity.     Also   the   supply   of   water   carts   was   in- 


[1951 


196  The  Story   of  the  36th 

creased  to  the  extent  that  those  which  had  been 
borrowed  in  the  area  around  Somme-Py  were  re- 
turned to  their  owners  as  were  other  similarly  bor- 
rowed supplies.  Within  a  short  time  the  division 
also  received  an  additional  supply  of  automatic 
pistols  and  these  were  distributed  without  loss  of 
time.  All  Browning  automatic  rifles  were  placed 
in  the  hands  of  troops,  none  being  held  in  reserve, 
as  had  been  the  case  w^hen  the  command  went  into 
action  the  morning  of  October  8.  All  of  these  auto- 
matic arms  that  had  been  cast  aside  by  wounded 
in  the  first  fighting  before  St.  Etienne  also  were 
gathered  up  and  after  being  repaired  or  cleaned 
were  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  troops  who  had 
learned  by  this  time  to  give  them  their  true  value. 

The  period  from  October  13  to  October  27, 
is  described  as  a  period  of  quiet  for  the  units  along 
the  Aisne  at  this  point,  although  it  proved  to  be 
anything  but  quiet  along  the  banks  of  the  river 
and  the  canal  where  the  patrols?  of  the  enemy 
were  constantly  coming  in  contact  with  the  patrols 
of  the  Thirty-sixth  and  the  French.  The  first  two 
days  after  the  division  took  up  its  position  this 
activity  was  not  so  pronounced,  but  later  when 
the  efforts  to  gain  information  of  the  enemy  across 
the  stream  were  more  determined,  frequently  there 
were  clashes  that  resulted  in  casualties.  Snipers 
on  both  sides  made  it  extremely  dangerous  for 
any  kind  of  daylight  patrolling  and  machine  guns 
were  brought  to  bear  by  the  enemy  on  all  cross- 
ings over  the  river  so  that  these  often  were  swept 
by  heavy  fire  at  all  hours  of  the  night. 

Although  facing  a  canal  and  river  over  which 
the  bridges  had  been  destroyed  by  the  retreating  en- 


TJie   GcJieral  Am'ance  i'JV 

emy,  it  was  the  purpose  li  Jnc  Fourth  French  Army 
to  push  on  after  the  Huns  and  to/cj  a  more  extend- 
ed and  less  orderly  withdrawal  along:  the  entire  front. 
For  this  purpose  the  commandin^^  general  of  the 
Thirty-sixth  was  instructed  by  the  commander  of 
the  Twenty-first  corps  to  make  all  necessary  recon- 
naissance, with  a  view  to  throwing  bridges  across 
the  river  and  canal  in  ths  vicinity  of  Attigny.  Ac- 
i-ording  to  these  plans  the  infantry  were  to  cross 
tTie  stream  either  Dy  sv/mimmg  or  other  means  and 
establish  a  bridgehead  on  the  north  oanks.  Cov- 
ered by  the  advance  of  these  troops  the  engineers 
vx-ere  to  bridge  the  stream  with  a  structure  pre- 
pared before  hand  and  transported  to  the  river 
under  cover  of  darkness.  Over  this  bridge  the  sup- 
porting troops  w^ould  pass  and  be  followed  by  the 
artillery  as  soon  as  sufficient  ground  could  be 
gained  on  the  north  side.  Preparatory  to  the 
bridging  of  the  stream  the  Second  Engineers,  who 
still  remained  with  the  division  and  who  were  sta- 
tioned in  the  neighborhood  of  division  headquar- 
ters at  Dricourt,  prepared  timbers  for  the  bridge 
and  practiced  the  movements  w^hich  were  expected 
to  be  carried  out. 

With  this  movement  in  view  efforts  were  made 
each  night  to  gather  additional  information  of  the 
enemy  across  the  river.  Several  pitrols  were 
successful  to  a  high  degree  in  spite  of  the  fire  from 
the  enemy's  machine  gunners  bearing  on  the  places 
where  crossing  was  considered  favorable.  During 
the  night  of  Octobpr  16.  patrols  from  both  the 
141st  and  143d  Infantry  regiments  succeeded  in 
crossing  to  the  north  side  of  the  river  where  they 
captured  two   prisoners   each   and   gained   valuable 


198  The  Story  of  the  86th 

information  of  the  enemy  troops  facing  the  divis- 
ion. The  following  night  a  patrol  from  the  First 
Battalion  of  the  142d  Infantry,  led  by  First  Lieu- 
tenant Donald  McLennan,  battalion  scout  officer, 
crossed  the  canal  and  river  near  Attigny  and 
brought  back  two  more  prisoners.  All  of  this  pa- 
trol work  was  done  under  the  most  disagreeable 
weather  conditions.  From  the  time  the  troops  of 
tljo  division  arrived  along  the  river  there  had 
been  a  steady  downpour  of  rain.  The  men  crawled, 
worked  and  slept  in  mud.  At  Attigny  it  was  pos- 
sible to  cross  the  canal  only  by  means  of  a  narrow, 
slippery  footlog  upon  which  the  enemy's  machine 
guns  bore  with  accuracy.  At  this  point  the  oridge 
had  been  mined  and  blov/n  up  by  Russian  pris- 
oners of  war  and  they  had  accomplished  their 
task  well. 

In  addition  to  his  scouts,  of  the  intelligence 
section.  Lieutenant  McLennan  had  volunteers  from 
tTie  four  companies  of  the  First  Battalion  of  the 
142d,  most  of  whom  had  sought  eagerly  for  the 
honor  of  accompanying  the  party.  While  part  of 
the  patrol  was  stationed  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
canal  to  cover  a  hasty  retirement  in  case  of  neces- 
sity, the  main  portion  was  led  by  the  scout  officer 
over  the  slippery  log  and  into  the  darkness  of  the 
underbrush  on  the  other  side.  Working  with  the 
utmost  care  and  making  their  way  slowly  and 
stealthily  forward,  they  passed  part  of  the  "boche" 
wire  and  obstructions  that  had  been  erected  be- 
tween the  canal  and  the  river,  and  then  were  halted 
by  the  sound  of  low  gutteral  voices  ahead.  Here 
was  the  chance  they  had  been  seeking.  Without 
noise   and   forgetting  much   of  the   possibilities   of 


The  General  Advance  199 

danger  that  faced  them,  members  of  the  patrol 
started  a  movement  to  surround  the  position  from 
which  the  sounds  had  come.  So  far  as  could  be 
.fudged  by  the  voices  there  were  only  two  of  the 
enemy  but  there  might  be  more.  Gradually  the 
patrol  closed  in  from  the  flanks  and  then  the  order 
came  for  Fritz  to  "stick  'em  up."  One  of  the  two 
appeared  to  be  a  little  more  than  anxious  to  com- 
ply, but  the  other  started  to  run.  Two  rifle  shots 
quickly  changed  the  mind  of  the  latter  and  he  also 
was  counted  among  the  prisoners.  Realizing  that 
the  shots  might  have  attracted  a  larger  German 
force  the  patrol  was  led  back  to  the  footlog  as 
quickly  as  possible.  One  of  the  two  Germans  was 
inclined  to  stoutness  to  a  degree  that  his  speed 
was  not  keeping  pace  with  that  of  the  patrol  lead- 
er. In  order  to  assist  the  rotund  prisoner  in  his 
progress  toward  the  American  lines  one  of  the  men 
employed  all  the  ability  he  had  learned  in  the  use 
of  his  feet  in  a  popular  American  sport  and  the 
propulsion  of  these  had  the  desired  effect.  The 
information  gained  was  all  that  was  wanted  at 
headquarters  and  every  member  of  the  patrol  was 
commended  for  the  part  he  had  played  in  the  cap- 
ture. 

After  this  successful  invasion  of  the  enemy's 
outpost  zone  every  man  was  keen  for  a  chance  to 
cross  the  river.  Also  the  snipers  did  some  excel- 
lent work.  One  of  these,  an  Oklahoman,  stationed 
in  a  post  along  the  canal  near  Attigny,  was  credited 
with  at  least  four  successful  shots  in  two  days  and 
it  was  declared  that  he  accomplished  other  re- 
sults which  could  not  be  verified  officially.  It 
grew  into   a   sport  not  unlike  that  of  hunting  big 


200 


The   Story   of   the   S6th 


The  General  Advance  201 

jrame,  this  exchange  of  shots  across  the  river,  in 
which  the  Americans  did  all  the  forcing  and  had 
all  the  best  of  the  argument.  The  deeds  of  one 
sniper  were  recounted  many  times  over  in  the  reg- 
iment afterward.  This  man  chose  a  position  with 
a  sergeant  which  would  enable  him  to  watch  for 
the  enemy  who  were  covering  the  footlog  with 
their  rifle  and  automatic  pistol  fire.  The  success- 
ful crossings  of  the  canal  had  made  the  enemy 
doubly  alert  to  prevent  further  effort  in  this  di- 
rection. As  the  sniper  and  the  sergeant  lay  in 
waiting  the  head  of  a  Prussian  guardsman  appeared 
cautiously  out  of  a  thicket  not  more  than  150  yards 
away.  This  was  target  enough  for  the  sniper  who 
reached  over  and  touched  his  companion  ana  then 
squinted  through  his  sights.  The  crack  of  the 
rifle  was  answered  by  a  convulsive  leap  on  the 
part  of  the  Hun  and  a  figure  clad  in  field  gray  lay 
sprawled  on  the  ground  in  full  view.  Both  snipers 
remained  at  their  posts  watching  for  the  possible 
appearance  of  a  second  enemy  figure  and  then 
the  man  who  had  fired  looked  at  the  other  and 
drawled:      "He  just  kicked  once  didn't  he!" 

With  the  purpose  of  effecting  a  crossing  to  the 
north  side,  constant  patrolling  was  demanded  of 
the  troops  along  the  river  banks.  Day  and  night 
these  were  called  upon  to  cross  the  canal  and  as- 
certain that  the  enemy  had  not  made  an  additional 
withdrawal  to  the  north.  At  times  the  observers 
reported  that  they  could  easily  distinguish  Germans 
in  the  back  areas  out  of  range  of  the  machine  guns 
and  rifles  but  the  demand  was  made  that  the 
troops  along  the  river  remain  in  touch  with  the 
enemy    day    and    night    in    order    that    any    move- 


202  The  Story  of  the  36th 

ment  to  the  north  might  be  discovered  the  instant 
it  began.  Responding  to  these  demands  from 
headquarters  a  volunteer  patrol  composed  of  Cor- 
poral Allie  Gammill  and  Privates  Ted  Watrous, 
Lester  Smith  and  Buster  Stinson,  all  from  the  142d 
Infantry,  crossed  the  canal  the  morning  of  October 
21.  They  had  been  instructed  by  their  commander 
to  secure  observation  of  the  enemy  on  the  other 
side  by  taking  post  in  the  higher  buildings  of  At- 
tigny  and  vicinity,  which  they  had  accomplished 
from  the  old  sugar  mill  to  the  west  of  the  town. 
Not  satisfied  with  this,  however,  they  had  de- 
termined to  cross  the  canal  and  if  possible  learn 
something  of  the  enemy  in  the  immediate  territory 
oii  the  north  side.  Time  and  again  that  morning 
chey  had  been  fired  upon  while  near  the  footlog 
across  the  canal.  In  spite  of  this  they  made  their 
vay  in  safety  over  the  precarious  footing  furnished 
by  the  narrow  makeshift  of  a  bridge.  They  had 
been  spurred  on  by  the  possibility  of  capturing 
three  Germans,  they  had  observed  while  in  the 
sugar  mill.  But  their  crossing  had  been  seen  The 
four  ^^erc  working  their  way  stealthily  across  the 
ground  between  the  canal  and  the  river  when  a 
burst  of  machine  gun  fire  brought  the  patrol  lead- 
'ir  Corporal  Gammill,  to  the  ground.  At  the  same 
time  a  group  of  the  enemy  was  seen  making  a  hur- 
lied  crossing  of  the  river  to  cut  off  the  patrol  on 
one  flank  while  the  machine  gun  made  it  impossible 
to  retreat  bv  the  only  other  avenue  of  escape.  The 
i-emaining  three  of  the  adventuresome  party  de- 
termined that  they  would  sell  their  lives  as  dearly 
as  possible.  Armed  only  with  automatic  pistols 
and    one   rifle  they   brought   a   steady    fire   to    bear 


The  General  Advance  203 

on  the  point  where  the  Germans  were  seen 
crossing  the  river.  Later  it  was  reported  that 
eight  dead  Huns  lay  by  the  banks  of  the  Aisne  at 
this  point.  Private  Watrous  was  ihe  next  to  be  hit. 
In  shifting  his  position  he  was  exposed  to  the 
raking  fire  of  a  machine  gun.  In  a  short  time 
Private  Stinson  also  had  been  wounded  and  prac- 
tically all  the  ammunition  had  been  exhausted. 
Realizing  that  he  could  be  of  no  assistance  to  his 
comrades  and  that  he  might  be  able  to  carry  back 
important  information,  the  only  other  man  of  the 
party.  Private  Smith,  made  a  wild  dash  for  liberty 
and,  although  there  were  two  bullet  holes  through 
his  helmet,  he  plunged  into  the  icy  water  of  the 
canal  and  landed  safely  on  the  south  bank  under 
the  protecting  fire  of  his  comrades'  rifles.  The 
information  desired  had  been  secured  but  at  a 
heavy  price  and  there  was  little  further  effort  at 
daylight  patrolling. 

About  the  same  time  however  one  of  the  scout 
officers  distinguished  himself  to  a  degree  that  he 
later  was  given  the  Distinguished  Service  Cross. 
Leading  a  patrol  of  several  men  along  the  banks 
of  the  canal  he  was  caught  with  his  whole  party 
between  the  cross  fire  of  two  German  positions  on 
the  north  side  of  the  river.  All  secured  cover  as 
best  they  could  from  some  small  trees  but  in  a  few 
moments  one  of  the  group  was  wounded  severely 
in  the  shoulder.  There  was  not  sufficient  cover 
to  prevent  annihilation  if  they  attempted  to  remain 
in  this  position.  The  officer  quickly  instructed  his 
men  as  soon  as  he  had  drawn  the  enemy's 
fire  that  all  but  himself  would  make  their  way 
with  the   wounded   man,   around   behind   the   little 


!04 


The  Story   of  the  36th 


The  General  Advance  205 

knoll  in  front  of  which  they  had  been  caught. 
Then  stepping  out  into  the  open  he  walked  back- 
ward up  the  face  of  the  knoll  firing  his  pistol  at 
the  enemy.  The  rest  of  the  patrol  quickly  made 
its  way  to  the  position  of  safety  and  the  officer 
although  the  target  for  all  enemy  weapons  bear- 
ing on  the  position,  also  was  unhurt. 

Another  patrol  which  secured  marked  success 
was  conducted  across  the  canal  at  night  by  Lieu- 
tenant Charles  K.  Campbell  of  the  141st  Infantry. 
This  patrol  lay  in  hiding  throughout  the  follow- 
ing day  and  secured  valuable  information  of  the 
enemy  from  close  range,  being  able  to  report  back 
to  headquarters  after  darkness  with  but  one  slight 
casualty.  It  had  located  five  machine  gun  posi- 
tions as  well  as  three  batteries  of  artillery.  Later 
the  Allied  artillery  was  able  to  register  on  these 
with  telling  effect. 

The  Second  Artillery  Brigade  which  had  re- 
mained with  the  division  from  the  first,  wa*  able 
through  unfailing  effort  to  get  into  position  along 
the  river  almost  as  soon  as  the  infantry.  In  fact 
the  night  of  the  thirteenth  the  infantrymen  had 
not  been  able  to  dig  in  and  prepare  their  positions 
for  the  night  before  the  guns  of  the  artillerymen 
were  making  the  night  hideous  with  their  screech- 
ing shells  hurled  into  the  "boche"  lines.  In  the 
support  positions  at  Vaux-Champagne,  the  infantry 
was  lying  in  foxholes  almost  on  top  of  the  guns 
but  in  spite  of  the  bellowing  of  the  latter  at  irreg- 
ular intervals  the  tired  "doug'hboys"  slept  soundly 
until  they  were  called  upon  to  move  to  another 
position  in  the  middle  of  the  night.  Skillful  ma- 
neuvering by  the  artillery  enabled  the  gunners  to 


206  The  Story  of  the  36th 

continue  their  bombardment  constantly  with  prac- 
tically no  interruption  from  the  enemy's  batteries 
or  airplanes.  Almost  daily  the  positions  of  the 
guns  were  changed  and  fire  delivered  from  a  dif- 
ferent angle  than  had  been  the  case  before. 
Throughout  the  engagements  the  Twelfth  Field 
Artillery  had  been  in  support  of  the  Seventy-first 
Brigade  and  the  Fifteenth  Field  Artillery  had  been 
behind  the  Seventy-second  Brigade.  The  heavy 
guns  of  the  Seventeenth  Field  Artillery  had  been 
distributed  in  the  back  areas  of  the  division  sector 
as  deemed  most  advisable.  During  the  period  of 
comparative  quiet  along  the  river  after  the  Thirty- 
sixth  arrived  in  position,  elements  of  the  Fifteenth 
Field  Artillery  were  sent  to  the  rear  for  a  short 
rest,  their  places  being  taken  by  reserve  batteries 
of  the  Twelfth  Field  Artillery. 

At  the  time  of  the  division's  arrival  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  river,  a  message  was  received  at 
headquarters  that  a  large  number  of  French 
refugees  were  collected  in  the  village  of  Ste,  Vau- 
bourg.  The  division  intelligence  officer  with  a 
chaplain  interpreter  was  sent  to  investigate  the  re- 
port and  found  a  crowd  of  men,  women  and  child- 
ren in  a  pitiable  condition  of  fright.  Due  to  the 
fact  that  these  were  then  in  French  territory  noth- 
ing could  be  done  to  relieve  the  situation,  other 
than  report  it  to  the  commander  of  the  corps.  Later 
however  when  the  village  was  ordered  included  in 
the  sector  of  the  division  arrangements  were  made 
to  transport  all  of  the  refugees  to  the  rear.  In 
the  meantime  the  town  had  been  covered  with 
white  flags.  At  least  one  flew  from  the  top  of 
every   house.      The    troops    on    either    side    at    first 


The  General  Advance  .        207 

had  been  unable  to  understand  what  these  meant, 
but  it  was  noticed  that  the  enemy  was  excluding 
the  village  from  his  targets  on  the  south  side  of 
the  river.  On  the  morning  that  the  refugees  were 
transported  to  the  rear  however  the  Hun  artillery 
opened  up  on  them  and  several  casualties  were 
reported.  No  deaths  resulted  but  the  experience 
added  a  new  episode  of  horror  to  the  great  number 
that  the  poor  peasants  had  endured  during  the 
four  years  previous  when  they  had  been  under  the 
German  yoke.  Some  of  the  stories  told  by  the 
refugees  were  pitiful  in  the  extreme.  One  woman 
related  her  experiences  as  a  cook  for  German  offi- 
cers on  duty  at  the  aviation  field.  For  four  years 
she  had  not  been  permitted  to  secure  sufficient 
lunds  to  get  proper  clothing  for  her  person  and 
was  required  to  labor  under  any  and  all  condi- 
tions, sick  or  well. 

Wires  of  all  kind,  especially  in  cellars  were 
regarded  with  suspicion  and  later  when  investiga- 
tion showed  that  acid  had  been  placed  so  it  would 
eat  through  wires  set  to  explode  mines  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Givry,  these  suspicions  proved  to  be  well 
founded.  A  few  days  after  the  halt  at  the  river 
there  were  several  explosions  of  enemy  dumps  in 
the  back  areas  and  it  is  assured  that  these  were 
set  off  by  time  fuses  so  arranged  that  they  would 
probably  explode  when  the  troops  of  the  Allies  had 
had  time  to  lose  suspicion  of  them.  However,  all 
troops  had  been  warned  to  keep  away  from  these 
dumps  with  the  result  that  no  one  was  harmed  by 
the  explosions. 

Premature  plans  for  throwing  a  small  body 
of  troops  across  the  river  as  soon   as  the  head  of 


208  The  Stonj  of  the  36th 

the  advance  reached  the  Aisne  had  been  aban- 
doned after  reports  were  received  from  airplanes  to 
the  effect  that  the  enemy  had  been  observed  in 
lorce  to  the  north  of  the  stream.  In  the  night  the 
patrols  could  distinguish  the  sound  of  shovel?  busy 
with  preparing  enemy  defenses.  These  reports 
caused  the  higher  commanders  to  decide  that  a 
movement  across  the  river  without  considerable 
preparation,  not  only  would  be  unsuccessful,  but 
would  be  attempted  only  at  a  heavy  loss. 

In  the  days  that  followed  the  orders  for  the 
division  changed  rapidly  and  there  was  a  continual 
shifting  of  ground  to  expand  the  frontage  assigned 
to  it.  This  acted  to  forestall  any  plans  that  might 
have  been  made  for  crossing  of  the  canal  and 
river.  The  first  of  the  orders  from  the  corps  com- 
mander had  directed  an  immediate  advance  with- 
out construction  of  bridges  either  for  foot  troops 
or  for  artillery  and  trains.  The  French  on  the 
right  were  directed  to  clean  up  the  river  loop  to 
the  east  of  Attigny,  at  the  same  time.  In  the 
order  directing  this  additional  advance,  which  was 
issued  to  be  effective  October  13,  it  was  announced 
that  the  Twelfth  French  division  would  be  rolieved 
the  night  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  and  that 
the  Thirty-sixth  Division  would  be  called  ui;on  to 
extend  its  front  to  the  right  in  order  to  maintain 
the  connections  in  the  front  line.  Orders  issued 
from  division  headquarters  of  the  Thirty-sixth  di- 
rected the  commanding  general  of  the  Seventy- 
cecond  Brigade  to  continue  the  advance  across 
the  canal  and  river  and  establish  his  troops  in  po- 
sitions on  the  north  bank.  At  the  same  time  th^ 
Reventv-first    Brigade    w?.s    directed    to    take    up    a 


The  General  Advance  209 

position  along  the  river  to  the  east  of  the  Seventy- 
second  Brigade  and  prepare  to  push  on  over  the 
stream  as  soon  as  in  position.  These  orders  were 
based  on  the  information  received  that  the  enemy 
was  still  retiring  northward. 

When  the  troops  of  the  Seventy-second  Brigade 
reached  the  canal  they  immediately  discovered  that 
the  north  bank  was  well  guarded  by  German  ma- 
chine gunners,  who  opened  fire  as  soon  as  presented 
with  a  target.  In  advancing  to  the  river  the  brigade 
suffered  two  men  killed  and  seventeen  wounded  and 
was  greeted  by  frequent  bursts  of  firing  fro  i 
points  directly  across  from  Givry.  Also  the  French 
troops  on  the  right  soon  discovered  that  the  enemy 
was  strongly  intrenched  across  the  neck  of  land 
which  extended  into  the  loop  of  the  river.  Thus  it 
early  developed  that  the  crossing  could  not  be  accor- 
plished  without  corplete  preparation  of  bridges 
and  strong  support  fro  n  artillery.  This  particu- 
larly was  brought  out  in  the  later  advance  of  the 
supporting  elements  of  the  brigade.  These  troops 
moving  up  to  the  front  in  broad  daylight  and  in 
plain  view  came  under  a  concentration  of  fire  that 
killed  twenty-six  enlisted  "  en  and  wounded  e'ght 
officers  and  173  men.  This  resulted  fro  i  artillery 
fire  for  the  most  part,  although  the  machine  gun 
'fire   was   heavy. 

Airplane  observation  secured  the  following  day 
verified  the  reports  from  the  front  line  that  the 
enemy  still  was  in  force  across  the  river.  The 
activity  of  the  airplanes  was  most  prominent  dur- 
ing the  period  of  quiet.  The  enemy's  squadrons  out- 
numbered those  of  the  Allies  and  they  frequently 
harassed   the   front   and   support   lines.      Often   they 


210  The  Story  of  the  36th 

flew  low  over  the  troops  burrowing  in  the  ground 
and  spattered  the  earth  with  machine  gun  bullets. 
During  one  of  these  flights  the  cook  of  a  battalion 
kitchen  just  back  of  the  front  lines  was  made  the 
particular  object  of  the  airplane's  wrath.  At  the 
time  the  captain  conmanding  the  regi  ental  sup- 
ply train  was  checking  up  the  delivery  of  rations. 
The  officer  and  a  stuttering  cook  sought  mutual 
cover  under  one  of  the  rolling  kitchens  in  which  the 
evening  meal  was  being  prepared.  Both  arrived  in 
position  under  the  firebox  of  the  kitchen  at  the 
sarre  time  and  much  after  the  fashion  of  a  base- 
ball player  sliding  head  first  for  a  base.  In  a  mo- 
ment or  two  the  captain  ejaculated :  "Whew,  but 
it's  hot!" 

"Wh-wh-wh-what's  the  matter,  cap'n,  are  you 
b-b-b-b-urinn'?"   stuttered   the  cook. 

"You're  darn  right  I'm  burning!"  exclaimed  the 
captain. 

"Wh-wh-wh-why  don't  you  turn  over?"  solic- 
itously stuttered  the  cook,  and  the  captain  glared  his 
feelings,  but  presented  the  other  side  to  be  toasted. 
A  little  later  both  e^nerged  perspiring  and  a  little 
sheepish  but  happy  in  the  knowledge  that  the 
"boche"  airmen  had   flown   away. 

Responding  to  the  demands  of  the  Twenty-first 
corps  commander  that  vigorous  methods  be  em- 
ployed to  push  forward  against  the  enemy  several 
patrols  attempted  to  cross  the  river  the  morning  of 
the  fourteenth,  but  all  of  these  met  with  stout  re- 
sistance from  the  enemy's  small  arms.  One  patrol 
from  the  141st  Infantry  encountered  the  enemy  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  river  loop  and  captured  six  pris- 
oners and  four  light  machine  guns  without  the  loss 


The  General  Advance  211 

of  a  man.  It  was  not  until  after  this  effort  to  cross 
the  river  that  orders  were  received  that  the  at- 
tempts for  a  general  advance  would  be  abandoned. 
Instead  the  troops  were  directed  to  make  every 
effort  to  establish  local  crossings  anywhere  possible 
with  a  view  to  placing  a  bridgehead  on  the  north 
bank. 

Further  shifts  in  the  position  were  carried  out 
the  night  of  October  18-19,  when  the  Twenty-first 
Corps  headquarters  was  pulled  out  of  the  line  and 
shifted  to  a  position  north  of  Reims.  The  Thirty- 
sixth,  with  the  Seventy-third  French  division,  was 
shifted  to  the  Ninth  French  corps.  Accompanying 
this  information  was  the  additional  news  that  the 
Seventh  French  division  would  be  withdrawn  from 
the  line  the  night  of  October  20-21,  and  that  its 
sector  would  be  taken  over  by  the  Thirty-sixth 
American  and  Sixty-first  French  divisions.  The 
Seventh  French  division  had  been  on  the  left  of  the 
Thirty-sixth  during  the  entire  advance  and  this 
change  necessitated  a  shift  to  the  west  of  the  troops 
in  the  Seventj^-second  Brigade.  Also  the  front  of 
the  Seventy-first  Brigade  was  widened  at  least  500 
yards  near  Attigny.  In  this  movement  machine 
guns  were  so  placed  that  they  would  cover  any  gaps 
that  might  exist  in  the  widened  frontage,  all  of  the 
front  line  companies  being  assigned  additional 
weapons  of  this  character  to  take  care  of  the  added 
territory. 

About  this  time  Colonel  John  S.  Hoover,  com- 
manding the  143d  Infantiy,  was  relieved  of  his 
command  at  the  request  of  Brigadier  General  Hulen, 
commanding  the  brigade.  Command  of  the  regi- 
nent    passed    to    Lieutenant-Colonel    Irving    Phillip- 


212 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


The  General  Advance  213 

son,  of  the  142d  Infantry,  who  also  had  assumed 
command  of  the  144th  Infantry  for  a  few  days 
after  the  arrival  on  the  south  banks  of  the  Aisne, 
when  the  colonel  of  that  regiment  collapsed  and 
was  evacuated  to  the  rear.  Later  the  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  144th  arrived  from  the  hospital  and 
reassumed  command.  Colonel  Jackson  of  the  141st 
Infantry  collapsed  about  the  same  time  and  was 
sent  to  the  rear,  the  regiment  being  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  James.  Also  Major 
Preston  A.  Weathered,  commanding  the  132d  Ma- 
chine Gun  Battalion,  was  evacuated  to  the  rear,  the 
battalion  being  placed  under  the  command  of  Cap- 
tain S.  D.  Ridings. 

Plans  were  completed  for  a  crossing  of  the 
river  by  the  corps  October  22,  with  the  Thirty-sixth 
leading  the  attack  to  establish  a  bridgehead  at 
Attigny.  This  plan  was  not  favored  by  General 
Smith  in  as  much  as  nothing  was  to  be  gained  by  a 
crossing  of  the  one  division  unless  the  others  pushed 
forward  at  the  sa  ~  e  time.  However,  the  corps 
com'rander  insisted  and  preparations  were  com- 
pleted to  this  end.  They  were  not  to  be  carried  out, 
however,  although  they  caused  the  activity  of  the 
patrols  already  entioned.  Detailed  plans  were 
drawn  and  sub->^itted  for  the  establishment  of  a 
bridgehead  by  the  Seventy-first  Brigade  at  Attigny, 
but  before  the  troops  could  be  completely  instructed 
in  the  details  of  what  was  going  forward,  an  order 
came  for  the  division  to  shift  to  the  east  and  take 
over  the  greater  part  of  the  sector  of  the  Seventy- 
third  French  division,  which  was  to  be  taken  out  of 
the  line  the  night  of  October  22-23.  This  caused  the 
crossing   of   the   river   to   be   abandoned,   but    placed 


214  The  Story  of  the  36th 

the  Seventy-first  Brigade  directly  opposite  the  entire 
front  of  the  enemy  across  the  neck  of  the  river 
loop,  which  v^as  regarded  as  the  most  difficult  posi- 
tion to  be  overcome   in   the  push  forward. 

The  new  change  of  position  was  a  side-slip  of 
the  entire  division,  the  Seventy-second  Brigade 
turning  over  part  of  its  sector  on  the  west  to  the 
Sixty-first  French  division.  The  142d  Infantry  was 
relieved  in  its  entire  sector  by  elements  of  the  144th 
Infantry,  and  then  instead  of  moving  over  to  the 
east  to  take  over  the  sector  of  the  141st  Infantry, 
marched  around  the  rear  of  that  regiment  and 
entered  a  sector  on  the  east  of  it,  taking  over  the 
ground  that  had  been  occupied  by  the  troops  of  the 
73d  Division.  This  made  the  western  boundary  of 
the  division  practically  the  same  that  it  had  been  in 
the  beginning,  but  extended  the  eastern  boundary 
more  than  a  mile.  Under  the  new  arrangements  the 
regiments  from  east  to  west  in  the  line  along  the 
river  were  142d  Infantry,  141st  Infantry,  144th 
Infantry  and  143d  Infantry.  This  change  called 
for  the  reTioval  of  the  Seventy-first  Brigade  head- 
quarters from  Pauvres  to  Leffincourt,  where  the  bri- 
gade reserve  troops  also  were  established.  All 
through  the  night  the  weary  soldiers  of  the  142d 
trudged  over  and  through  the  mud  of  the  back  areas 
to  get  into  position,  but  the  dawn  found  them  at 
their  destinations  and  ready  for  further  develop- 
ments that  might  be  undertaken. 

These  shifts  in  the  position  of  the  troops  had 
meant  a  constant  changing  of  the  lines  of  commun- 
ication by  the  signal  battalion,  but  these  managed, 
by  using  some  of  the  wires  that  had  been  left  in 
position  by  the  enemy,  to  maintain  without  interrup- 


The  General  Advance  215 

tion  telephone  and  buzzer  connections  between  the 
command  posts  of  the  higher  commands  and  the 
front  line  companies.  The  linemen  of  the  organiza- 
tions running  the  wires  to  the  front  line  companies 
earned  the  highest  praise  by  their  constant  devotion 
to  duty  under  the   most  trying  circumstances. 

About  the  time  the  last  shift  in  the  line  was 
made  there  was  a  noted  increase  in  the  amount  of 
artillery  fire  received  fro  11  the  enemy.  In  the  back 
areas  where  the  units  of  supply  were  called  upon 
to  be  especially  active,  the  enemy  constantly  poured 
his  long  range  fire.  In  spite  of  this  the  ammuni- 
tion train  drove  up  to  the  dumps  in  broad  day- 
light and  deposited  munitions  with  impunity.  Much 
of  this  shelling  appeared  to  be  retaliation  for  an 
attack  by  the  Sixty-first  French  Division,  which 
advanced  the  night  of  the  twenty-fourth  and  cap- 
tured the  town  of  Ambly-Fleury.  This  was  a  small 
village  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Ardennes  canal  a 
short  distarf^e  to  the  west  of  Givry,  The  French 
took  more  than  100  prisoners,  among  whom  were 
four  officers.  This  was  accomplished  with  practi- 
cally no  losses  among  the  assaulting  troops. 

Directly  after  the  arrival  of  the  division  along 
the  river  a  field  hospital  had  been  set  up  about  two 
kilometers  north  of  Machault,  where  all  wounded 
were  taken  to  be  evacuated  to  the  rear.  The  con- 
stant occurrence  of  casualties  had  caused  the  divi- 
sion commander  to  send  repeated  requests  to  Gen- 
eral Headquarters  for  replace  rents,  but  only  a  few 
arrived,  and  these  were  assigned  to  the  133d  Ma- 
chine Gun  Battalion,  all  the  infantry  regiments  re- 
taining a  strength  of  approximately  sixty  men  to 
the  company,   or  about  one-fourth  of  the  authorized 


216  The  Story   of  the   36th 

strength.  In  view  of  the  possible  advance  across 
the  river,  the  demand  for  additional  men  w^as  vital, 
but  apparently  it  was  not  desired  to  retain  the  di- 
vision in  this  position  longer  and  the  desired  re- 
placements were  withheld. 


CHAPTKK    IX. 

FOREST  FERME. 

Sweeping  northeast  along  the  western  edge  of 
the  Argonne  Forest,  the  Aisne  River  continues  its 
course  until  it  reaches  a  point  on  a  parallel  with 
the  northern  ost  edge  of  that  part  of  the  great 
wood  which  scatters  out  northwest  of  Grand  Pre, 
At  this  point  the  river  turns  sharply  to  the  west 
until  beyond  the  city  of  Rethel  and  then  southwest 
on  its  course  to  the  sea  through  Soissons  and  the 
Compiegne  Forest.  At  the  place  where  the  river 
turns  sharply  to  the  west  it  is  compelled  to  bend 
around  a  high  bit  of  ground  that  appears  unexpect- 
edly from  a  little  flat  plain  in  which  nestle  the  vil- 
lages of  Ste.  Vaubourg,  Chuffilly,  Chardeny,  La 
Roche  and  Chateau  Mery.  In  curving  around  this 
high  ground  the  Aisne  makes  a  decided  horseshoe 
or  loop,  or  which  might  better  be  likened  to  the 
letter  U.  The  opening  of  the  letter  is  to  the  south 
and  the  rounded  side  to  the  north,  as  though  the 
letter  were  inverted.  Inside  the  north  end  of  the 
letter  is  the  town  of  Rilly  and  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  about  a  kilometer  to  the  west  of  the  letter's 
mouth  is  the  town  of  Attigny.  Across  the  river 
from  the  east  side  of  the  loop  the  ground  rises 
steeply  in  a  series  of  low  hills  which  are  covered 
with  patches  of  woods  and  on  all  sides  to  the  north 
the  terrain  quickly  reaches  an  elevation  higher  than 
the  high  ground  inside  the  loop.  Snugly  ensconced 
among  the  ridges  of  the  high  ground  within  the 
letter  is  Forest  Fer    e,  hidden  fro  n  the  view  of  any 

•217] 


218  The  Story  of  the  36th 

one  approaching  until  one  is  almost  on  top  of  it,  and 
located  a  little  nearer  the  western  side  of  the  in- 
verted letter  U  than  the  eastern  side. 

Across  the  opening  of  the  U  at  the  south  the 
Germans  had  established  their  line  of  resistance 
and  had  fortified  this  with  a  series  of  wire  entan- 
gle "ents  cleverly  placed  so  that  none  of  these  could 
be  approached  without  coming  in  the  field  of  fire  of 
one  or  more  machine  guns.  These  machine  guns 
were  placed  for  the  most  part  in  two  strong  points, 
one  of  which  was  near  Forest  Ferme  and  the  other 
and  stronger  farther  to  the  east  in  a  system  of  Ger- 
man training  trenches,  which  had  been  improved 
and  made  extremely  difficult  to  attack.  Before  these 
strong  points  there  had  been  placed  a  double  band 
of  wire  entanglements,  each  band  being  from  five 
to  six  strands  wide  and  placed  low  on  the  ground 
so  that  while  they  might  be  stepped  over  it  had  to 
be  done  with  caution  in  order  that  the  person  at- 
tempting it  would  not  stumble  and  fall.  These 
strong  points  conrranded  a  view  of  the  entire  plain 
to  the  south,  where  rested  the  villages  already 
named,  and  all  around  the  strong  points  the  ene  y 
had  stationed  his  machine  gunners  and  snipers  in 
such  position  that  each  held  an  excellent  field  of 
fire  while  enjoying  perfect  cover.  In  one  of  these 
minor  positions  the  Germans  were  completely  hid- 
den by  the  natural  grov^h  of  some  s^all  brush, 
while  at  the  same  time  they  were  protected  by  a 
trench  that  had  been  dug  partially  by  rainfall.  Here 
also  had  been  placed  minenwerfers  of  small  caliber, 
as  well  as  light  artillery,  the  latter  being  somewhat 
to  the  rear  in  the  direction  of  Rilly.  The  full  ex- 
tent of  the  German  line  across  the  neck  of  land  was 


Forest  Ferme  219 

approximately   two   kilometers,   or   a   little   less   than 
two  miles. 

In  changing  the  positions  of  the  various  regi- 
ments along  the  Aisne,  the  regimental  command 
post  of  the  141st  Infantry  had  not  been  shifted, 
although  the  regiment's  front  had  been  moved  and 
extended  to  the  east  so  that  it  covered  nearly  half 
of  the  distance  across  the  neck  of  land.  The  left  of 
the  regiment  had  been  withdrawn  from  the  town  of 
Attigny  and  placed  nearer  the  brickyard  to  the  east 
of  the  town.  The  eastern  part  of  the  German  line 
across  the  mouth  of  the  loop  was  faced  by  the  142d 
Infantry,  which  had  side-slipped  across  the  area  of 
the  141st  Infantry  the  night  of  October  22.  Head- 
quarters of  the  142d  had  been  established  in  the 
town  of  Chardeny,  while  the  command  post  of  the 
front  line  battalion  had  been  placed  in  Chuffilly. 

From  the  time  the  Seventy-first  brigade  took 
up  this  last  position  it  was  under  a  concentration 
of  fire  from  the  enemy's  artillery  of  all  calibers, 
and  was  subjected  to  harassing  machine  gun  fire 
as  well.  Possession  of  the  ground  within  the  loop 
of  the  river  by  the  Germans  meant  that  the  enemy 
might  at  his  pleasure  make  a  raid  upon  the  Amer- 
ican lines  or  that  it  might  be  very  favorable  ground 
from  which  to  launch  a  counter  attack  at  any  time. 
It  was  these  facts  that  caused  the  higher  command- 
ers to  insist  that  the  river  loop  be  cleared,  although 
two  unsuccessful  attempts  had  been  made  by  the 
French  a  few  days  earlier. 

Both  of  these  attacks  had  been  launched  by  the 
troops  of  the  French  Seventy-third  Division.  The 
first  of  these,  delivered  the  night  of  the  sixteenth, 
had  been  in  the  nature  of  an  intended   surprise  at- 


22a  The  Story  of  th£  36th 

tack  and  had  not  been  preceded  by  artillery  prep- 
aration. This  had  failed  completely,  the  enemy 
being  on  the  alert  and  meeting  the  advance  with 
such  heavy  machine  gun  and  rifle  fire  that  the  as- 
sault hardly  gained  impetus  worthy  of  the  name. 
With  a  considerable  number  of  casualties  the 
French  fell  back  to  their  former  positions  without 
gaining  anything  other  than  the  knowledge  that  the 
""boche"  held  the  line  in  great  force  and  that  the 
position  would  have  to  be  taken  with  the  assistance 
of  strong  artillery   preparation. 

With  this  artillery  preparation  the  following 
evening  the  same  troops  again  advanced  to  the  at- 
tack. On  the  right  the  assault  again  was  stopped 
after  the  assaulting  waves  had  progressed  to  the 
second  line  of  wire  entangle  ents.  Here  the 
French  were  met  with  such  heavy  grenade,  as  well 
as  machine  gun  fire,  that  they  were  halted,  and  when 
the  enemy  opened  up  a  heavy  concentration  of  artil- 
lery fire  in  which  there  was  a  large  amount  of  gas 
shell,  the  right  regiment  in  the  assault  dropped 
back  to  its  starting  position  with  heavy  casualties. 
On  the  left  the  assaulting  regiment  was  able  to 
progress  across  a  difficult  hedge,  which  ran  parallel 
to  the  enemy's  front  near  Forest  Ferme,  but  was 
halted  before  it  reached  the  actual  defenses  of  the 
enemy.  Here  the  Frenchmen  dug  in  and  remained 
in  spite  of  counter-attacks  which  were  launched  by 
the  enemy  the  following  afternoon.  There  were  two 
of  these  counter-attacks,  accompanied  by  heavy 
artillery  barrages,  but  both  attempts  to  drive  the 
French  out  of  their  positions  were  unsuccessful. 
During  these  assaults  on  the  enemy  positions  at  the 
mouth  of  the  loop,  the  Allied  artillery  had   concen- 


Forest  Ferme  221 


trated  the  fire  of  its  heaviest  pieces  upon  the  high 
ground  across  the  river  to  the  east  and  northeast 
of  the  U,  but  this  did  not  serve  to  overcome  the 
counter-battery  work  of  the  enemy.  This  is  espe- 
cialy  interesting  in  considering  the  attack  of  the 
Seventh-first  Brigade  against  the  same  loop  posi- 
tions a  short  time  later. 

With  the  changing  of  the  sector  and  the  relief 
of  the  Seventy-third  French  division,  came  the  an- 
nouncement that  for  the  time  being  the  plan  to 
cross  the  river  at  Attigny  and  attack  the  Germans 
on  the  north   banks  w^ould   t. 

was  the  intention  of  the  high  co  mand  to  clear  the 
enemy  from  the  south  bank  of  the  stream  and  canal 
before  any  effort  was  made  to  push  on  beyond,  even 
if  a  crossing  was  successful  a  short  distance  to  the 
west.  With  the  Germans  in  the  river  loop  any 
troops  on  the  north  bank  of  the  stream  near  Attigny 
would  be  under  a  comnanding  flank  fire  that  would 
make  the  ground  just  to  the  north  of  Attigny  un- 
tenable. 

The  information  that  the  plan  to  cross  the 
Aisne  had  been  abandoned  was  sent  out  October  23, 
the  day  following  the  change  in  positions,  and  at 
the  same  time  it  was  announced  that  the  Thirty- 
sixth  Division  would  be  expected  to  clear  the  Ger- 
mans from  the  south  side  of  the  stream  on  or  be- 
fore October  27.  With  this  announcement  also 
was  the  information  that  the  division  would  be  re- 
lieved from  the  line  the  night  of  October  27-28,  and 
this  brought  about  an  unusual  situation.  It  was 
definitely  determined  that  the  Seventy-first  Brigade 
could  not  prepare  completely  to  make  the  attack 
before    the    twenty-seventh,    and   that    if   the   troops 


222  The  Story  of  the  36th 

made  the  assault  at  that  time  they  could  not  be  with- 
drawn that  night.  This  would  be  extremely  inad- 
visable because  of  the  confusion  that  would  result. 
Also,  if  the  troops  in  the  support  and  reserve  posi- 
tions were  relieved  that  night  it  would  place  new 
troops,  unfamiliar  with  the  ground,  in  a  position 
where  they  would  not  be  able  to  render  the  desired 
assistance  in  the  event  of  an  attack  by  the  enemy 
in  force. 

These  matters  were  presented  to  the  corps  com- 
mander, General  Prax,  by  Major  General  Smith,  who 
pointed  out  at  the  same  time  that  the  positions  which 
would  be  occupied  by  the  Allied  troops  within  the 
river  loop  would  be  made  extremely  uncomfortable 
by  the  positions  held  by  the  enemy  in  the  town  of 
Vonq,  and  the  elevated  ground  around  it  on  the  east 
side  of  the  river.  In  addition  to  these  points  of 
vantage  held  by  the  enemy  it  was  known  that  there 
were  strong  artillery  positions  in  the  vicinity  of 
Attigny,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Aisne,  which  could 
bring  a  deadly  enfilade  fire  to  bear  on  the  assaulting 
units.  Also  General  Smith  pointed  out  that  if  the 
assaulting  battalions  were  not  relieved  at  the  same 
time  the  other  troops  were  taken  out  of  the  sector, 
several  days  would  elapse  before  the  command  could 
be  reunited  properly.  In  turn  the  corps  commander 
explained  that  the  possession  of  the  ground  to  the 
south  of  the  Aisne  by  the  enemy  was  preventing  the 
successful  attack  of  the  French  forces  to  the  east, 
who  were  preparing  to  advance  against  the  Germans 
and  force  them  to  retire  still  farther  northward. 
General  Prax  also  promised  that  the  assault  battal- 
ions would  be  relieved  the  night  following  the  de- 
parture of  the  balance  of  the  division,  and  that  these 


Forest  Ferme  223 

battalions  would  be  transported  to  the  rear  to  the 
vicinity  of  Somme-Py  by  French  camions  instead  of 
marching  like  the  other  troops.  He  explained  that 
the  French  troops  who  would  relieve  the  assault  reg- 
iments were  seasoned  soldiers  and  were  familiar 
with  the  sector,  having  been  given  detailed  informa- 
tion of  the  conditions  and  having  made  a  study  of 
the  terrain.  He  also  explained  that  these  would  be 
in  readiness  to  move  forward  promptly  in  the  event 
of  a  serious  demonstration  by  the  enemy  as  a  counter 
movement  and  besides  that  all  American  dead  would 
be  taken  care  of  properly,  their  graves  marked  and 
interment   conducted   with   fitting   ceremonies. 

In  this  manner  it  finally  was  settled  upon  that 
the  division  would  clear  the  enemy  from  his  posi- 
tions in  the  loop  and  the  Seventy-first  brigade  was 
selected  to  make  the  attack.  The  commanding  gen- 
eral of  the  Seventy-first  Brigade  was  directed  to 
draw  up  his  plan  of  operations  along  certain  lines 
laid  down  by  the  division  commander  and  when  this 
was  submitted  it  was  approved  immediately.  It 
called  for  the  attack  to  be  made  with  the  two  in- 
fantry regiments  abreast,  the  142d  on  the  right  and 
the  141st  on  the  left,  each  with  one  battalion  in  the 
assaulting  waves,  one  battalion  in  support  and  one 
battalion  in  the  brigade  reserve  at  Leffincourt.  The 
131st  Machine  Gun  Battalion  was  placed  with  the 
supporting  troops  near  Chardeny.  The  Third  Bat- 
talion of  the  142d  Infantry  was  selected  to  conduct 
the  assault  with  the  Second  Battalion  in  support,  the 
First  Battalion  just  having  been  relieved  from  the 
front  line  positions  when  the  regiment  was  side- 
slipped from  before  Attigny.  In  the  141st  Infantry 
the  troops  of  the  First  and  Second  Battalions  were 


224 


The  Story   of  the  SOth 


(Jen.  Pershiiiji'  Saluting  the  Colors  ut  lioview  of  .'!Gtli 
Division  Near  Tonnerre. 


Forest  Ferme  225 

corbined  for  the  attack  while  the  other  battalion 
was  stationed  in  the  vicinity  of  Leffincourt  as  part  of 
the  brigade  reserve.  With  the  assaulting  troops  were 
Co  ^  panies  B  and  C  of  the  132d  Machine  Gun  Bat- 
talion as  well  as  a  group  of  trained  wire  cutters  fron 
the  Second  Engineers,  whose  task  would  be  the  cut- 
ting of  wire  that  might  interfere  with  the  advance. 
Each  of  the  regiments  supplied  a  group  of  infantry- 
men accompanied  by  machine  guns  to  conduct  liaison 
on  the  right  and  left  and  protect  any  gaps  that  might 
occur  in  the  line  where  the  regi  rents  joined  dur- 
ing the  assault.  The  exact  hour  for  the  attack  to 
CO  mence  was  not  known  until  the  day  of  the  twen- 
ty-seventh when  it  was  received  by  the  men  after 
they  actually  were  in  position. 

Preparatory  to  the  assault  the  artillery  of  the 
Second  Division  was  to  prepare  with  a  standing  bar- 
rage of  twenty  minutes  on  the  "boche"  positions, 
pulverizing  them,  and  then  a  rolling  barrage  was  to 
move  forward  at  the  rate  of  100  yards  every  three 
minutes.  The  attacking  infantry  was  to  begin  the 
move  forward  with  the  start  of  the  rolling  barrage 
and  to  follow  this  as  closely  as  possible  in  order  not 
to  allow  the  enemy  to  emerge  fro  ■■  his  dugouts  and 
begin  firing  before  the  attacking  infantry  was  upon 
hin.  In  addition  the  coTmander  of  the  corps  ar- 
tillery was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  General  Smith 
with  elements  of  his  artillery  which  were  to  register 
their  fire  on  the  positions  of  the  enemy  across  the 
river  and  in  the  back  areas  of  the  neck  of  land  to 
be  taken.  The  Second  Trench  Mortar  Battery  of  the 
Second  American  Division  also  was  brought  into 
position  to  pour  demolition  fire  upon  the  front  line 
positions  occupied  by  the  "boche." 


226  The  Story  of  the  36th 

To  further  assist  in  the  attack  the  corps  com- 
mander had  designated  that  the  Czecho-Slovak  bri- 
gade of  the  French  division  on  the  right,  assist  in 
the  attack  by  furnishing  liaison  with  the  right  of  the 
Seventy-first  Brigade.  The  personnel  of  this  brigade 
was  n  ade  up  for  the  most  part  of  Poles  fro  i  the 
United  States,  all  of  whom  spoke  English  and  the 
stories  related  by  all  of  them  as  to  how  they  man- 
aged to  get  to  Europe  were  extremely  interesting. 
No  less  than  three  of  them  in  the  liaison  group  act- 
ing with  the  142d  Infantry  explained  that  they  had 
been  turned  down  repeatedly  when  they  tried  to  en- 
ter various  branches  of  the  United  States  Army,  one 
because  he  was  arried,  another  because  his  eyes 
were  not  good  and  still  another  because  he  could  not 
read  and  write  the  English  language. 

Preparatory  to  the  attack  the  advance  command 
post  of  the  141st  Infantry  was  moved  up  to  the  town 
of  Ste.  Vaubourg.  The  headquarters  of  the  142d 
Infantry  ren^ained  at  Chardeny.  The  troops  of  both 
regin^ents  suffered  severely  fron  the  enemy's  artil- 
lery fire  during  the  days  of  preparation  and  waiting 
before  the  attack.  The  greater  part  of  the  shells 
which  came  over  was  laden  with  gas,  the  mustard 
shells  predominating.  The  concentration  of  this 
fire  in  the  vicinity  of  Chuffilly,  where  one  shell  reg- 
istered a  direct  hit  on  the  command  post  of  the 
Third  Battalion,  142d  Infantry,  that  the  troops  around 
the  town  were  burned  by  the  splashing  liquid  in  the 
fox-holes  where  they  lay.  They  were  moved  back 
to  the  positions  near  Chardeny  until  the  evening 
before  the  attack  in  order  that  they  might  be  pro- 
tected from  the  gas  bombardment,  although  the  effect 
of  the  poison  was  negligible  except  where  the  liquid 


Forest  Ferme  227 

itself  splashed  on  the  victim  before  it  had  time  to  be 
vaporized  into  gas  and  dissipated  by  the  atmosphere. 

During  this  bombardment  the  division  gas  officer 
paid  a  visit  to  the  area  and  declared  that  it  was 
dangerous  for  troops  to  be  there.  Most  of  the  men 
in  the  front  line  and  support  positions  hov^ever  had 
beco  y  e  well  acquainted  with  the  danger  of  the  lo- 
cation by  that  time  and  although  a  move  was  made 
to  the  positions  farther  to  the  rear,  there  was  much 
deriding  the  idea  that  gas  could  be  made  extremely 
dangerous  in  the  open. 

The  plan  of  attack  for  the  twenty-seventh  called 
for  the  general  advance  to  be  made  to  a  line  just 
beyond  Forest  Ferme  where  the  positions  taken 
were  to  be  consolidated,  and  for  patrols  to  push  on 
forward  to  the  town  of  Rilly  on  the  banks  of  the 
canal.  These  patrols  were  to  exploit  the  ground 
thoroughly  in  order  that  no  Germans  might  remain 
south  of  the  river  uncaptured,  and  that  prepara- 
tions might  progress  that  would  enable  the  troops 
to   advance   across  the   river   at  this   point, 

A  high  state  of  morale  existed  in  all  ranks.  The 
men  had  gained  confidence  in  their  ability,  that  had 
come  with  experience  under  fire.  In  the  darkness  of 
the  early  morning  October  27,  the  assaulting  echelons 
crept  into  their  positions  before  the  German  wire 
and  concealed  themselves  to  lie  in  waiting  through 
the  greater  part  of  the  day  before  the  signal  for  the 
attack  would  be  given.  Here  they  were  so  well 
camouflaged  that  the  eneny  was  not  aware  of  their 
presence  at  any  time  before  the  assault  and  then 
did  not  know  it  because  those  in  position  to  see 
either  were  driven  into  their  dugouts  or  were  killed 
by  the  American  artillery  barrage. 


228  The  Story  of  the  36th 

The  hour  set  for  the  attack  to  begin  was  16:30 
o'clock,  French  time,  or  4 :30  p.  m.  American  time. 
It  was  well  selected,  as  at  that  hour  the  visibility 
was  so  poor,  the  enemy  on  the  heights  across  the 
river  could  not  observe  what  was  taking  place, 
while  the  attacking  forces  still  had  sufficient  light 
to  see  their  way  clearly  and  to  -  ake  no  mistakes. 
To  assist  in  overcoming  the  visibility  and  observa- 
tion afforded  the  ene  y,  a  smoke  screen  was  pre- 
pared and  placed  in  such  a  manner  that  it  complete- 
ly hid  the  advancing  infantry  from  the  machine 
gunners  across  the  river  and  prevented  them  from 
firing  on  the  positions  in  the  loop  even  after  these 
were  captured. 

The  signal  for  the  assault  was  the  firing  of  a 
lone  piece  of  artillery.  This  arked  the  start  of  the 
preparatory  bombard  ent  on  the  ene  '  y's  positions. 
This  lone  cannon  broke  the  stillness  of  the  late  after- 
noon and  the  waiting  doughboys  crouched  in  their 
positions  knew  the  fight  was  on.  For  twenty  min- 
utes the  bursting  shells  from  the  Allied  pieces 
dropped  a  curtain  of  high  explosives  on  the  trenches 
and  fox-holes  occupied  by  the  enemy.  Apparently 
unable  to  discern  what  was  taking  place  the  enemy 
artillery  response  to  this  fire  was  weak,  only  a  com- 
paratively small  voluTie  of  fire  falling  on  the  posi- 
tions occupied  by  the  troops  waiting  for  the  begin- 
ning of  the  advance.  Patiently  the  men  rested  with 
their  weapons  in  position,  while  officers  leading  com- 
panies and  platoons  watched  the  slow  movement  of 
the  watch  hands  creeping  around  to  "H  hour",  the 
time  set  for  the  movement  to  begin.  The  artillery 
beat  upon  the  earth  in  front  as  steadily  as  the  rolling 
of  a  drum  while  the  smoke  screen   drifted  over  the 


Forest  Ferme  229 

enemy  positions  and  between  the  objectives  and  the 
eneTiy  positions  across  the  river  so  that  lack  of 
observation  practically  eliminated  machine  gun  fire 
from  that  direction. 

Then  as  the  moment  arrived  for  the  barrage  to 
roll  forward,  up  out  of  their  places  rose  the  waiting 
infantrymen.  Slowly  and  steadily  they  pressed  on- 
ward up  the  slope  toward  the  two  strong  points, 
one  at  Forest  Ferme  and  the  other  in  the  little  wood 
to  the  east.  They  were  following  the  barrage  so 
closely  that  they  were  almost  "leaning  against  it." 
Everything  was  orderly.  They  were  veterans  now. 
Whereas  all  had  been  uncertainty  and  confusion  be- 
fore St.  Etienne,  everything  was  orderly  and  pre- 
cise now. 

The  first  belt  of  wire  was  reached  and  crossed. 
Some  of  the  men  stepped  over  while  others  walked 
through  without  difficulty  where  the  strands  either 
had  been  severed  by  the  artillery  fire  or  were  cut  by 
the  engineers,  who  accompanied  the  advance.  Much 
of  the  wire  remained  intact,  but  little  heed  was  paid 
to  this.  There  was  no  defense  by  machine  guns 
and  rifles,  the  "boche"  remaining  crouched  in  his 
positions  of  shelter  and  unable  to  get  out.  The  ar- 
tillery was  still  beating  upon  the  front  line  posi- 
tions. Still  advancing  as  steadily  as  at  parade  the 
first  waves  reached  the  second  belt  of  wire.  Again 
they  clambered  over  and  through.  Here  and  there 
a  man  was  falling  but  these  were  few.  The  inter- 
vals between  men  in  the  assaulting  waves  were 
large  and  the  enemy's  shells  were  having  little  effect. 
The  second  belt  of  wire  was  passed. 

Bayonets  ready  the  advancing  infantry  jump- 
ed into  the  trenches  of  the  enemv  before  the  Huns 


230  The  Story  of  the  36th 

could  emerge  from  their  places  of  shelter.  Some 
of  these  were  met  as  they  attempted  to  come  out 
of  their  dugouts.  In  almost  every  case  their  hands 
immediately  shot  into  the  air  and  the  cry  *'kame- 
rad'  was  squealed  before  there  was  a  chance  for 
action.  Position  after  position  was  overcome  in 
this  manner,  the  front  line  not  hesitating  to  clean 
up  the  captured  ground,  leaving  that  to  the  special 
dotails  of  men  picked  for  that  purpose  and  which 
were  coming  closely  behind.  Without  a  halt  the 
advance  was  continued  until  the  final  objective 
was  reached  and  then  while  the  barrage  was  held 
and  allowed  to  play  steadily  on  the  areas  beyond 
for  thirty  minutes  the  infantrymen  with  picks  and 
shovels  dug  places  of  shelter  along  the  captured 
line  and  prepared  to  defend  it  against  possible 
counter  attacks.  But  none  was  to  develop.  As 
the  assault  reached  its  final  objective  a  German 
messenger  dashed  out  of  the  entrance  to  a  dugout 
and  attempted  to  escape  in  the  direction  of  Rilly. 
Quickly  a  member  of  the  intelligence  section  lev- 
eled a  shotgun  and  brought  down  the  fleeing  Hun. 
The  German  was  not  wounded  seriously  and  de- 
clared that  although  he  had  been  in  the  fighting 
throughout  the  war  it  was  the  first  time  he  had 
been  wounded.  He  was  found  to  be  carrying  im- 
portant dispatches  and  was  a  valuable  capture. 

Beginning  the  assault  the  141st  Infantry  had 
been  withdrawn  slightly  in  order  that  the  men  in 
the  first  waves  would  not  be  so  close  to  the  bar- 
rage that  they  would  come  within  the  range  of  the 
bursting  shells.  During  the  early  morning  of  the 
twenty-seventh  the  assault  troops  of  this  regiment 
had    been    withdrawn    slightly    to     a    jumping-off 


Forest  Ferme  231 

trench  and  there  they  lay  in  waiting  throughout 
the  day.  A  few  minutes  before  the  hour  for  the 
advance  to  begin,  the  enemy's  counter  barrage 
began  to  fall  but  it  was  placed  so  that  all  of  the 
shells  fell  in  rear  of  the  assault  troops  and  practi- 
cally no  casualties  resulted  from  this.  The  rifle- 
men and  automatic  riflemen  in  the  two  assault 
waves  had  little  opportunity  to  use  their  weapons. 
They  were  upon  the  Germans  before  the  latter  had 
a  chance  to  attempt  a  defensive.  The  bombers 
however  were  busy  tossing  their  explosives  into 
the  dugouts  and  making  sure  that  none  of  the 
enemy  was  hiding,  until  such  time  as  they  might 
operate  their  weapons  in  rear  of  the  assaulting 
troops.  In  a  few  instances  German  machine  gun- 
ners attempted  to  get  their  weapons  into  action 
but  were  silenced  immediately.  On  two  occasions 
the  men  cleaning  up  the  dugouts  captured  more 
than  twice  their  number  of  prisoners.  The  total 
casualties  of  the  regiment  was  only  twelve.  One 
of  these  was  Lieutenant  Charles  M.  Ford,  who  was 
killed  by  a  bursting  shell.  Two  enlisted  men  also 
were  killed  by  shell  fire  and  the  nine  other  cas- 
ualties were   wounded. 

In  the  preparations  of  the  142d  Infantry  for 
the  attack  a  novel  scheme  of  keeping  the  move- 
ments of  the  troops  secret  was  worked  out.  The 
entire  country  was  covered  by  a  network  of  aband- 
oned German  wires  which  were  suspected  of  hav- 
ing been  left  purposely  in  such  a  condition  that 
the  enemy  across  the  river  could  connect  up  with 
them  and  "listen  in"  to  the  messages  being  trans- 
mitted to  various  parts  of  the  American  lines. 
More  than   once  there  had  been  evidence  to   indi- 


232  The  Story  of  the  36th 

cate  that  such  things  were  being  accomplished.  To 
overcome  this  condition  Colonel  Bloor  selected 
some  of  the  most  intelligent  Indians  from  Company 
E,  composed  almost  entirely  of  redmen  from  Okla- 
homa, and  stationed  them  at  the  telephones.  These 
Indians  were  members  of  the  Choctaw  tribe  and 
when  the  written  messages  were  handed  to  them 
in  English  they  transmitted  them  in  their  own 
tongue  and  it  is  reasonably  assured  that  no  word 
of  this  was  picked  up  by  the  Huns. 

Instructed  at  an  assembly  of  the  officers  of 
the  regiment  the  leaders  of  the  142d  Infantry 
troops  took  station  early  on  the  morning  of  the 
twenty-seventh  with  the  single  line  that  lay  cam- 
ouflaged directly  under  the  forward  German  posi- 
tions. There  they  remained  until  the  hour  for 
them  to  start  the  advance  when  they  rose  and 
moved  steadily  forward.  The  bursting  shells  of 
the  enemy's  counter-barrage  fell  directly  among 
their  ranks  and  shells  of  the  friendly  barrage  fall- 
ing short  of  the  enemy  positions  also  fell  among 
them.  For  a  few  moments  there  was  confusion 
but  for  a  few  moments  only.  Quickly  the  ranks 
were  reorganized  and  moved  onward.  When  the 
Germans  rushed  from  their  dugouts  as  the  barrage 
moved  forward,  they  found  the  142d  Infantrymen 
waiting  for  them  with  rifles,  grenades  and  trench 
knives  in  their  hands.  The  Huns  barely  had  time 
to  realize  what  was  happening  before  they  were 
prisoners.  The  recovery  of  the  Infantry  after  be- 
ing fired  upon  by  their  own  artillery,  and  meet- 
ing the  heavy  fire  of  the  enemy's  guns  at  the  same 
time,  was  made  the  subject  of  the  highest  praise 
both  by  the  French  and  the  American  commanders. 


Forest  F'erme  233 

The  machine  gun  company  of  the  142d  In- 
fantry was  attached  to  the  132d  Machine  Gun  Bat- 
talion for  the  operation  and  assisted  the  gunners 
of  that  organization  in  putting  down  the  machine 
gun  barrage  ahead  of  the  advancing  troops.  These 
guns  sprayed  every  yard  of  the  positions  occu- 
pied by  the  enemy,  and  other  guns  of  the  bat- 
talion accompanied  the  advancing  infantry  to  be 
placed  in  positions  such  that  would  enable  them 
to  sweep  the  front  with  fire  in  the  event  of  a 
counter-attack,  while  the  captured  ground  was 
being  consolidated  for  the  defense.  The  battalion 
suffered  five  casualties  in  the  action,  all  being  en- 
listed men  who  were  wounded  by  shell  fire. 

The  casualties  of  the  142d  Infantry  were 
heavier  than  either  of  the  other  two  organizations 
engaged  in  the  assault.  Eight  men  were  killed  on 
the  field  and  sixteen  wounded.  Most  of  these 
occurred  during  the  time  the  troops  came  under 
the  combined  fire  of  the  friendly  artillery  and  the 
enemy's  guns.  All  of  the  losses  were  among  the 
enlisted  men. 

As  soon  as  the  final  objective  had  been  reach- 
ed along  the  line  running  east  to  west  through 
Forest  Ferme,  strong  patrols  were  pushed  out  to 
clear  up  the  entire  area  of  the  river  loop,  includ- 
ing the  town  of  Rilly  at  the  northernmost  extremity 
of  the  neck  of  land.  In  this  cleaning-up  movement 
none  of  the  enemy  was  found.  If  there  had  been 
any  in  the  areas  back  of  the  front  line  positions 
they  had  retreated  across  the  river. 

The  attack  on  Forest  Ferme  resulted  in  the 
complete  destruction  of  the  Prussian  Guard  bat- 
talion   stationed    in   the    loop.      This    battalion    was 


234 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


Forest  Ferme  235 

from  the  Ninth  regiment  of  the  Third  Prussian 
Guard  division,  reputed  to  be  one  of  the  best  in 
the  German  army.  After  the  close  of  the  action 
it  was  found  that  the  prisoners  numbered  four  offi- 
cers, five  non-commissioned  officers  and  185  pri- 
vates. The  dead  counted  on  the  field  was  only 
slightly  less  than  this  number.  So  far  as  could  be 
ascertained  every  other  officer  and  man  of  the 
battalion,  including  the  commanding  officer  and 
an  artillery  officer  attached  for  duty,  was  killed. 
The  prisoners  were  much  better  in  appearance 
than  those  captured  during  the  action  before  St. 
Etienne.  The  Germans  around  Forest  Ferme  were 
well  clothed,  cleanly  shaven  and  apparently  were 
well  supplied  with  tobacco  and  food. 

In  addition  to  the  prisoners  taken  the  brigade 
captured  thirty-one  machine  guns,  a  large  quan- 
tity of  rifles,  grenades,  mortars  and  trench  stores. 
The  general  appearance  of  the  stores  and  their 
arrangement  indicated  that  the  enemy  had  ex- 
pected to  maintain  his  position  on  the  south  side 
of  the  river  indefinitely. 

During  the  assault  there  had  been  a  demon- 
stration with  artillery  in  the  vicinity  of  Attigny 
to  distract  the  attention  of  the  enemy  from  the 
real  attack.  That  this  was  successful  in  a  measure 
was  indicated  by  several  heavy  explosions  across 
the  river  from  Attigny.  Following  the  attack  fires 
were  reported  in  the  enemy  lines  during  the  night. 
These  were  in  the  vicinity  of  Voncq  and  Semuy 
and  demonstrated  the  expectation  of  the  enemy 
that  the  Allies  would  attempt  a  crossing  of  the 
river  in  that  vicinity  in  the  immediate  future. 


236  The   Story   of  the   36th 

For  the  operation  against  the  river  loop  the 
Seventy-second  Brigade  had  retained  only  one  in- 
fantry regiment  in  position,  the  144th.  The  mis- 
sion of  this  regiment  was  only  to  remain  in  posi- 
tion on  the  left  flank  in  readiness  to  participate  at 
any  time  it  might  be  called  upon  to  repel  any  coun- 
ter movement  of  the  enemy  near  Attigny,  The 
143d  Infantry  already  had  been  relieved,  and 
withdrawn  from  the  sector.  This  occurred  the 
night  of  the  twenty-sixth  when  the  French  took 
over  the  positions  held  by  that  regiment,  and  the 
144th  Infantry  was  withdrawn  the  following  night. 

The  assault  on  the  enemy  positions  within  ihe 
river  loop  had  been  carried  out  in  every  instance 
as  prescribed  by  the  field  orders  of  the  command- 
ers. Not  a  detail  was  neglected.  The  discipline, 
the  liaison,  the  following  of  the  barrage  and  the 
development  of  the  position  after  it  was  taken  were 
accomplished  just  as  laid  down  in  the  books  of 
tactics,  and  the  whole  operation  took  on  the  as- 
pects of  a  maneuver.  The  effect  of  the  trench  mor- 
tar fire  on  the  enemy  positions  before  the  advance 
was  noted  with  particular  interest  by  the  observers 
on  the  hills  to  the  rear,  where  every  move  made 
by  the  assaulting  waves  could  be  seen.  Unlike 
the  former  operations  of  the  brigade,  there  had 
been  time  to  inform  all  ranks  of  the  plans  for  the 
attack  so  that  every  soldier  as  well  as  oflficer  knew 
what  was  to  be  done.  Thus  in  spite  of  the  dark- 
ness that  fell  soon  after  the  close  of  the  assault, 
the  men  went  about  establishing  the  line  on  the 
exact  positions  prescribed  in  the  sketches  that  had 
been  provided  previously.  The  effective  aid  of  the 
Second   Engineers   who    assisted   in    destroying   the 


Forest  Ferme  237 

wire  in  the  path  of  the  infantry  was  highly  com- 
mended by  the  troop  commanders. 

The  assault  battalions  were  retained  in  the 
positions  they  had  captured  until  the  morning  of 
October  29,  when  they  were  marched  to  the  rear 
and  then  transported  in  camions  to  rejoin  their 
regiments.  The  support  battalions  in  each  regi- 
ment were  sent  to  the  rear  the  night  of  the  twenty- 
eighth,  being  taken  as  far  south  as  Somme-Py  in 
camions.  The  front  line  positions  were  all  taken 
over  by  the  French  before  daylight  of  the  twenty- 
ninth,  at  which  time  all  troops  of  the  division  had 
passed  out  of  the  firing  zone  to  the  rear.  The 
front  line  battalions  were  transported  in  camions  to 
a  point  near  Camp  Montpelier,  a  French  rest  camp 
in  the  vicinity  of  Somme-Suippe,  which  point  also 
was  reached  the  evening  of  October  29  by  the 
balance  of  the  division.  The  troops  relieved  from 
the  line  the  night  of  October  27,  had  been  bivou- 
acked in  the  vicinity  of  Machault  until  daybreak 
when  they  had  continued  to  march  to  Somme-Py. 
There  they  camped  for  the  night.  The  march  from 
Somme-Py  to  Camp  Montpelier  had  consumed  all 
of  the  following  day.  Division  headquarters  had 
been  set  up  at  Camp  Montpelier  and  from  there 
directions  were  given  out  for  the  billeting  of  the 
troops  and  the  distribution  of  supplies. 

When  the  sector  had  been  turned  over  to  the 
French,  the  German  prisoners  that  had  been 
used  to  clean  up  the  rear  areas  were  turned  over 
also.  Ammunition  and  supply  dumps  had  been 
cleaned  up  and  the  material  at  these  had  been 
transported  to  the  railhead.  Field  hospitals  that 
had  been  set  up  near  the  front  line  to  take  care  of 


238  The  Story  of  the  36th 

the  wounded  in  the  last  engagement,  were  taken 
down  hurriedly  and  transported  to  the  rear  and 
the  division  passed  from  the  zone  of  actual  fight- 
ing for  the  balance  of  the  war,  although  nothing 
of  the  kind  was  indicated  at  the  time. 

Of  great  interest  to  the  men  during  the  day 
following  the  attack  on  the  river  loop  had  been 
the  efforts  of  the  German  airplanes  to  scatter 
propaganda.  Many  pamphlets  printed  in  French 
and  English  had  been  dropped  on  the  front  line 
area.  These  pointed  out  that  a  new  form  of  gov- 
ernment was  being  set  up  in  Germany,  that  the 
fourteen  points  of  President  Wilson  had  been  ac- 
cepted and  that  hostilities  were  to  stop  soon.  The 
question  was  asked  why  the  useless  fighting  should 
continue.  This  crude  effort  to  lower  the  morale 
of  the  Allies  was  met  with  much  jesting. 

As  if  to  retaliate  for  the  clean  cut  manner  in 
which  the  Americans  had  wiped  out  the  German 
battalion  within  the  loop,  the  enemy's  batteries 
concentrated  their  fire  on  this  part  of  the  line 
during  the  night  and  day  following.  Guns  of  all 
calibers  played  on  the  back  as  well  as  the  forward 
areas.  The  loss  of  the  positions  was  a  serious 
handicap  to  the  enemy.  From  the  vantage  points 
in  the  captured  territory  the  Allies  constantly 
threatened  the  German  lines  to  the  east  and  per- 
mitted the  farther  advance  of  the  French  forces 
in  that  direction.  Also  it  enabled  the  artillery  to 
bear  on  important  German  communication  points 
so  that  the  lines  of  supply  were  interrupted.  The 
Seventy-first  Brigade  again  had  come  out  of  the 
fighting  with  great  credit  and  had  earned  a  record 
for  aggressiveness  that  might  well  be  envied  by 
older  and  more  experienced  organizations. 


CHAPTER  X. 
TO   BAR-LE-DUC— THE   ARMISTICE. 

Although  Camp  Montpelier  was  far  from  at- 
tractive in  appearance,  being  little  more  than  a 
collection  of  great  barns  and  half  dugouts  covered 
with  frame  roofs  and  walls  that  projected  from 
three  to  four  feet  out  of  the  ground,  yet  it  repre- 
sented the  first  buildings  that  the  troops  had  been 
able  to  sleep  in  for  a  month.  After  the  mud  and 
rain  that  had  been  their  daily  lot  along  the  Aisne 
the  shelter  of  the  wooden  structures  was  more  than 
welcome.  Little  or  no  straw  was  to  be  had  but  by 
this  time  the  men  had  learned  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves. From  the  neighboring  pine  trees  they  se- 
cured enough  needles  to  make  beds  and  in  some  of 
the  buildings  fires  were  started. 

Probably  the  most  welcome  of  all  things  af- 
forded at  Camp  Montpelier  for  the  officers  was  the 
change  of  underclothing  that  was  secured  from 
the  baggage  which  had  been  left  at  Suippes  and 
Somme-Suippe.  As  soon  as  the  troops  had  been 
placed  in  billets  and  assured  of  the  evening  meal, 
wagons  were  sent  to  the  dumps  where  the  baggage 
had  been  placed  and  this  was  brought  to  the  camp. 
Not  all  of  the  officers  were  fortunate  enough  to 
find  their  things  and  many  of  the  bedding  rolls 
and  bags  had  been  rifled  of  their  most  important 
contents,  but  most  everybody  was  able  to  appear 
the  following  morning  in  clean  clothing  for  the 
first  time  in  many  weeks.  The  enlisted  men  were 
not  so  fortunate  as  a  rule.     Their  packs  had  been 

[239] 


240  The  Story   of  the  36th 

brought  up  to  the  river  after  having  been  dumped 
at  Somme-Py,  just  before  the  actual  front  line  had 
been  entered  but  much  of  the  clothing  had  been 
stolen  by  passing  troops  until  but  few  of  the  real 
owners  of  the  property  ever  received  the  things 
belonging  to  them.  In  this  manner  many  things 
belonging  to  the  dead,  which  would  ordinarily 
have  been  sent  back  to  the  relatives  in  the  United 
States,  disappeared  never  to  be  found. 

The  march  from  the  front  to  the  Suippes  area 
had  been  a  trying  ordeal  for  many  who  had  be- 
come weakened  from  long  exposure.  Again  the  im- 
proved roads  had  to  be  avoided  in  order  that 
the  long  trains  of  supplies  and  ammunition  for  the 
troops  in  the  front  line  might  not  be  blocked. 
There  had  not  been  the  forced  onward  pushing 
that  had  characterized  the  entrance  into  the  lines 
because  there  was  not  the  same  demand  for  speed 
and  there  was  more  time  for  the  men  to  look  about 
them.  On  the  way  back  over  the  battlefield  around 
St.  Etienne  most  of  the  organizations  found  time 
to  halt  and  permit  the  men  to  look  at  various  points 
where  comrades  had  been  killed  and  to  clear  up 
hazy  impressions  that  existed  about  the  lay  of 
the  land  during  the  fighting.  There  had  been  a 
few  solemn  moments  at  the  burial  places  to  the 
southeast  of  the  village,  where  those  who  had 
fallen  had  been  gathered  together  and  grouped 
according  to  regiments. 

Then  the  march  had  been  continued  south 
of  Somme-Py  over  the  old  Hindenburg  defenses. 
The  path  once  more  led  through  the  mazes  of 
barbed  wire  where  the  ground  was  strewn  with 
"dud"  projectiles  that  were  avoided  with  the  great- 


To  Bar-le-Duc. — The  Armistice  241 

est  care.  These  projectiles  were  being  exploded 
as  rapidly  as  possible  by  German  prisoners,  while 
here  and  there  a  French  sentry  stood  guard  at  the 
entrance  of  a  dugout  to  warn  others  that  explosives 
had  been  piled  therein  to  be  set  off  as  soon  as  the 
preparations  were  complete.  Many  of  the  shells 
scattered  about  on  the  ground  were  almost  the 
size  of  a  small  man,  being  the  largest  projectiles 
fired  from  the  German  naval  guns. 

After  this  march  from  the  lines  there  was 
general  expectation  that  the  troops  would  be  al- 
lowed to  rest  in  the  vicinity  of  Suippes,  but  ru- 
mors to  this  effect  proved  to  be  erroneous.  During 
the  night  of  the  twenty-ninth  billeting  officers  were 
roused  from  their  beds  and  sent  away  in  trucks 
and  automobiles  to  prepare  places  for  the  troops 
to  rest  the  following  night,  and  with  the  dawn 
came  orders  for  all  units  to  be  on  the  road  and 
marching  eastward  by  8  o'clock.  By  this  time 
orders  had  been  received  transferring  the  Thirty- 
sixth  Division  from  the  Fourth  French  Army  to 
the  First  American  Army,  then  engaged  in  the  bit- 
ter struggle  for  the  possession  of  the  Argonne  ter- 
ritory between  the  Meuse  and  the  Aisne  Rivers. 

The  night  of  the  thirtieth  the  division  was 
billeted  in  the  area  just  to  the  west  of  Ste.  Mene- 
hould,  on  the  ground  where  the  forces  of  Frederick 
the  Great  had  met  reverses  at  Valmy.  The  troops 
of  the  142d  Infantry  were  billeted  in  the  town  of 
Valmy  itself  and  the  following  morning  marched 
over  the  hill  where  the  French  had  made  their 
victorious  stand  against  the  forces  of  the  famous. 
Prussian  general.  During  the  day  previous  the 
march  had  been  conducted  parallel  to  the  old  front 


242  The  Story   of  the  36th 

line  affording  the  columns  of  men  additional  op- 
portunities to  observe  the  ground  where  the  French 
had  made  their  one  big  successful  drive  against 
the  Germans  in  1915, 

From  the  area  west  of  Ste.  Menehould  the  di- 
vision continued  the  march  southeastward  toward 
the  Triaucourt  area,  division  headquarters  being 
established  in  the  town  of  Dampierre  the  night  of 
October  31,  where  it  remained  until  the  morning 
of  November  2,  the  troops  having  stopped  in  this 
area  one  day  to  rest.  They  had  been  on  the 
march  since  the  night  of  October  27,  and  although 
there  had  been  but  few  cases  of  exhaustion  many 
of  the  men  showed  the  effect  of  the  long  tramps  on 
the  hard  roads.  Some  were  lame  and  sore  from 
ill-fitting  shoes,  which  were  all  right  on  the  soft 
ground  but  which  chafed  while  marching  on  the 
highways. 

The  morning  of  November  2,  the  march  again 
was  begun  and  the  head  of  the  leading  column  en- 
tered the  edge  of  the  lower  Argonne  Forest.  That 
night  the  troops  were  billeted  in  the  villages  around 
Triaucourt  itself,  but  the  final  move  had  not  been 
made.  Sunday,  November  3,  the  columns  were  on 
the  road  again  at  an  early  hour  and  some  of  the 
troops  exceeded  thirty-five  kilometers  before  the 
final  halt  was  made.  Throughout  the  day  the  re- 
ports of  the  guns  at  the  front  could  be  heard 
with  more  distinctness  than  had  been  the  case 
since  the  area  around  Suippes  had  been  left.  In 
the  early  morning  the  columns  had  passed  through 
the  lower  edge  of  the  Argonne  wood  and  then 
headed  almost  due  south.  By  night  the  most  ad- 
vanced columns  were  in  the  vicinity  of  Bar-le-Duc. 


To  Bar-le-Duc. — The  Armistice  243 

In  this  area  the  entire  division  was  directed 
to  remain  until  replacements  could  be  received 
and  some  much  needed  equipment  could  be  secured 
and  distributed.  Division  headquarters  vv^as  estab- 
lished at  Conde  en  Barrois,  a  small  town  about 
twenty  miles  slightly  south  of  due  west  from  the 
town  of  St.  Mihiel  and  about  thirty  miles  almost 
due  south  of  Verdun. 

Two  days  were  given  the  troops  to  rest  from 
their  long  marches  and  settle  themselves  in  their 
billets  as  well  as  mend  and  wash  their  clothing, 
which  had  been  long  neglected.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  it  was  announced  that  every  energy  would 
be  directed  toward  getting  back  into  condition  to 
enter  the  lines  again  in  the  final  push  to  break 
through  the  German  defenses.  The  area  in  which 
the  division  was  billeted  had  just  been  abandoned 
by  the  First  Division,  American  Expeditionary 
Forces,  which  had  rested  there  after  its  first  en- 
trance into  the  Argonne  struggle,  and  which  had 
just  marched  away  to  the  north  to  engage  in  the 
final  fighting  of  the  war  in  the  vicinity  of  Mouzon 
and  Sedan.  Even  as  the  Thirty-sixth  was  mak- 
ing its  last  march  on  the  third  the  Fifth  Corps  un- 
der Major  General  Charles  P.  Summerall  was 
breaking  through  the  last  defenses  of  the  Kriem- 
hilde  Stellung  and  forcing  the  retreat  of  the  Huns 
in  the  direction  of  Sedan. 

At  the  end  of  two  days  in  the  area  north  of 
Bar-le-Duc  the  division  began  to  receive  replace- 
ments and  a  strenuous  program  of  training  was 
prescribed.  Lessons  that  had  been  learned  under 
actual  fighting  conditions  were  remembered  and 
combined  with  the  theories  that  had  been  instilled 


244 


The   Story   of  the   36th 


To  Bar-le-Duc. — The  Armistice  245 

with  the  instruction  before  the  lines  were  entered. 
Daily  the  troops  were  taken  to  improvised  ranges 
and  given  special  instruction  in  the  use  of  the  au- 
tomatic rifle,  as  well  as  the  automatic  pistol  and 
grenades.  Special  attention  was  directed  toward 
the  use  of  the  pistol,  a  weapon  with  which  the  men 
had  not  been  armed  in  the  first  training  period 
around  Bar-sur-Aube.  Cold  rains  were  the  rule, 
but  these  were  not  considered.  From  early  morn- 
ing until  late  at  night  the  troops  were  in  the  field 
getting  ready  for  the  time  when  they  again  would 
engage  the  enemy  in  battle. 

While  at  the  front  division  headquarters  had 
been  kept  informed  daily  of  the  progress  of  the 
fighting  in  the  Argonne  as  well  as  in  the  other 
theaters  of  operations.  The  fall  of  Lille  and  other 
places  in  Flanders  and  Belgium  had  been  pro- 
claimed and  the  newspapers  had  told  of  the  col- 
lapse of  Turkey  and  Bulgaria.  In  the  Triaucourt 
area  the  papers  published  in  Paris  were  distributed 
daily  through  the  division  area  by  the  representa- 
tives of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  other  organizations, 
and  all  of  these  indicated  that  the  end  was  near. 
Still  there  was  no  let-up  in  the  efforts  to  get  the 
division  in  shape  for  the  expected  movement  into 
the  line  again  in  the  near  future.  Most  of  the  re- 
placements were  from  the  Thirty-fourth  Division, 
made  up  of  the  National  Guard  from  Nebraska, 
South  Dakota  and  Iowa,  splendid  soldiers  who  had 
been  through  long  periods  of  training  at  Camp 
Cody,  New  Mexico,  and  who  had  been  made  re- 
placement troops  as  soon  as  they  landed  in  France. 
Others  were  casuals  from  the  hospitals  or  who  had 
been    picked    up   by  the    military    police    while    ab- 


246  The  Story  of  the  36th 

sent  without  leave  from  their  organizations.  These 
last  named  however  were  few  indeed.  Some  of  the 
old  men  who  had  been  wounded  in  the  fighting 
around  St.  Etienne  were  among  those  who  came 
from  the  hospitals  and  there  were  several  officers 
and  non-commissioned  officers  who  had  been  at 
the  First  Corps  School  at  Gondrecourt,  while  the 
division  was  in  the  line.  These  were  among  the 
most  eager  to  get  the  men  in  shape  for  another 
try  at  the  Hiin.  They  had  missed  the  other  fight- 
ing and  were  keen  to  get  a  chance  under  fire. 

Insufficient  replacements  were  received  to 
bring  the  organizations  up  to  full  strength  but 
most  of  the  infantry  companies  were  given  enough 
men  to  make  a  strength  of  approximately  200  men, 
which,  was  more  than  most  of  them  had  been  able 
to  enter  the  line  with  the  first  of  October.  Due 
to  the  fact  that  most  of  these  were  trained  soldiers 
great  confidence  was  added  to  the  organizations 
and  with  the  experience  in  the  Champagne  it  was 
assured  that  the  division  would  take  care  of  itself 
if  ever  brought  against  the  enemy  again.  Most 
of  the  men  were  re-equipped  completely  with 
clothing,  the  old  uniforms  being  placed  in  a  sal- 
vage dump  and  hauled  away  after  the  fresh  cloth- 
ing had  been  issued.  Additional  arms  and  equip- 
ment also  were  distributed  and  after  several  days 
of  training  the  personnel  began  to  look  forward 
with  anticipation  to  another  meeting  with  the 
enemy. 

This  however  was  not  to  be.  The  morning  of 
November  7,  the  news  was  received  that  the  Ger- 
man government  had  asked  for  an  armistice  and 
that   representatives    of   the    government    were    on 


To  Bar-le-Duc. — The  Armistice  247 

their  way  to  France  to  treat  for  terms.  Among 
the  peasantry  these  things  were  not  considered  as 
being  probable.  Wherever  it  was  mentioned  the 
French  people  gravely  shook  their  heads  and  ex- 
plained that  they  had  been  at  war  more  than  four 
years  and  that  the  news  was  too  good  to  be  true. 
However  when  the  fact  of  the  armistice  finally  was 
announced  colors  of  France,  as  well  as  the  other 
nations  represented  among  the  Allies,  sprang 
into  existence  to  be  displayed  in  the  houses  every- 
where. Most  of  the  troops  of  the  division  were  at 
drill  the  morning  the  final  news  of  the  cessation 
of  hostilities  came.  During  the  early  part  of  the 
morning  the  bombardment  at  the  front  had  been 
more  distinct  than  had  been  the  case  prior  to  that 
date.  As  the  clock  pointed  first  to  10  o'clock  and 
then  toward  11  o'clock  the  firing  grew  in  volume 
until  the  men  began  to  wonder  if  the  enemy  had 
turned  and  was  delivering  an  unexpected  counter- 
blow at  the  Allied  lines.  Then  suddenly  the  bom- 
bardment ceased  and  all  was  quiet.  It  was  at  this 
time  that  the  message  sent  by  radio  from  Eiffel 
Tower  at  Paris  was  received.  Everywhere  the 
news  was  published  there  was  a  demonstration. 
The  men  danced  and  sang  and  shouted  themselves 
hoarse.  All  wrote  letters  home  and  began  to  count 
the  days  when  they  would  be  returning  to  the 
United  States. 

But  the  training  program  was  to  be  continued. 
Although  the  armistice  had  been  arranged  and 
plans  were  in  progress  for  the  occupation  of  Ger- 
many it  was  considered  likely  that  there  might 
be  further  need  for  fighting  men  and  in  order  to 
maintain   the   troops   at  the   highest   possible   point 


248  The  Story  of  the  36th 

of  efficiency  there  was  a  daily  routine  of  maneuvers 
against  machine  gun  positions,  practice  in  scout- 
ing and  patrolling  and  combat  practice  on  the 
range.  This  work  was  doubly  hard  after  the 
cessation  of  hostilities  however.  While  there  had 
been  a  prospect  of  using  their  knowledge  against 
the  enemy  the  men  were  willing  to  go  through  any 
hardship  to  accomplish  the  desired  results,  but 
with  this  prospect  gone  the  work  and  exercises 
soon   grew  uninteresting   and   irksome. 

Therefore  when  an  order  came  for  the  divis- 
ion to  move  to  the  area  around  Tonnerre,  a  small 
city  on  the  main  highway  between  Paris,  Dijon. 
Lyon,  Marseilles  and  Nice  and  about  100  miles  from 
Paris,  there  was  general  rejoicing.  The  move  was 
made  by  marching  and  proved  the  longest  of  the 
kind  ever  conducted  by  the  division.  The  troops 
started  the  morning  of  November  18,  and  did  not 
reach  their  destination  until  Thanksgiving.  On 
the  way  to  Tonnerre  they  passed  through  the 
Thirteenth  training  area  around  Bar-sur-Aube, 
where  they  were  greeted  joyously  by  the  French 
people  with  whom  they  had  lived  while  training 
before  entering  the  fight.  In  every  French  home 
dinner  was  prepared  for  as  many  guests  as  could 
be  accommodated  and  wine  of  many  years  vintage 
was  brought  out  of  the  cellars  to  celebrate  the  oc- 
casion. 

On  the  march  from  the  area  north  of  Bar-le- 
Duc  to  the  Sixteenth  Training  Area  around  Ton- 
nerre the  division  was  transferred  from  the  Seventh 
Army  Corps  to  the  First  Army  Corps,  commanded 
by  Major  General  William  M.  Wright,  with  head- 
quarters at  Tonnerre   itself.      The  headquarters   of 


To  Bar-le-Duc.—Thr  Armistice  249 

the  Thirty-sixth  was  established  at  Cheney,  a 
-small  town  about  nine  kilometers  northwest  from 
Tonnerre  on  the  highway  to  Paris  and  the  division 
was  billeted  in  the  surrounding  towns.  South  and 
east  of  Tonnerre  the  Seventy-ninth  and  Eightieth 
Divisions,  also  a  part  of  the  Corps  were  billeted. 
During  the  march  from  the  north  there  had 
been  keen  competition  between  the  regiments  of  in- 
fantry to  see  which  could  establish  the  best  record. 
In  this  the  honors  w^ent  to  the  142d  Infantry  which 
had  the  smallest  number  of  men  to  fall  out  from 
exhaustion  yet  which  remained  in  the  van  of  the 
movement  and  reached  its  billets  in  the  Tonnerre 
area  ahead  of  all  others.  The  entire  division  con- 
cluded the  march  in  the  best  of  health  and  with 
the  men  in  fine  physical  condition. 


250 


The  Story   of  the  36th 


CHAPTER  XL 


OPERATIONS    OF    THE    111th    ENGINEERS. 

On  the  march  to  the  Tonnerre  area  the  divis- 
ion once  more  was  joined  by  the  111th  Engineers 
who  had  been  marched  away  from  the  training 
area  around  Bar-sur-Aube,  September  10,  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  operation  against  the  St.  Mihiel 
salient.  Companies  A  and  E  of  the  111th  Supply 
Train  also  returned  to  the  division  just  prior  to 
the  movement  from  the  Triaucourt  area  after  having 
been  on  detached  service  with  the  First  Army  troops 
in  the  vicinity  of  Verdun  during  the  closing  days 
of  the  fighting. 

From  their  billets  near  Bar-sur-Aube  the  reg- 
iment of  enginesis  had  been  transported  by  rail  to 
the  town  of  Frouard  just  north  of  the  city  of  Nancy 
and  near  the  juncture  of  the  Moselle  and  Meurthe 
Rivers.  This  was  along  the  eastern  side  of  the  St. 
Mihiel  salient  and  directly  south  of  Pont-a-Mous- 
son,  one  of  the  best  known  sectors  to  American 
troops  in  the  entire  war.  The  night  of  September 
12.  when  the  attack  against  the  salient  had  pro- 
gressed to  such  a  point  that  it  was  already  pro- 
claimed the  greatest  possible  success,  the  regi- 
ment moved  up  to  Gezoncourt  and  the  following 
night  to  Martincourt.  just  north  of  the  old  positions 
in  that  sector  of  the  American  troops  so  often  re- 
ferred to  in  the  early  days  of  1918  as  the  "sector 
northwest  of  Toul," 


\2->^] 


252  The  Story  of  the  36th 

The  next  day  the  engineers  were  given  their 
first  experience  of  building  roads  under  artillery 
fire.  During  the  two  preceding  days  they  had 
been  within  hearing  of  the  big  guns  as  they  roared 
their  defiance  at  each  other.  They  started  to 
work  on  the  roads  at  Regnieville  the  morning  of 
September  14,  and  for  the  next  three  days  there 
was  hardly  time  for  meals  as  they  struggled  to 
make  \  le  road  across  the  old  French  and  German 
defenses  passable  for  the  heavy  traffic  that  was 
demanded.  As  at  all  other  places  where  the  lines 
of  the  opposing  forces  had  remained  stationary 
for  four  years  there  was  a  strip  of  ground  about 
four  miles  wide  that  had  been  blown  to  powder  as 
the  battling  armies  had  burrowed  beneath  the  sur- 
face or  plowed  up  the  ground  with  their  enormous 
shells  and  mines.  The  whole  surface  of  the  earth 
in  this  strip  was  pulverized  stone  and  gravel  mixed 
with  broken  munitions  and  rubbish.  All  signs  of 
former  roads  had  disappeared  and  a  complete  new 
highway  had  to  be  constructed  in  order  that  the 
heavy  artillery  might  move  forward  with  the  in- 
fantry in  the  attack 

In  the  construction  of  this  highway  the  en- 
gineers displayed  an  ability  that  earned  them  the 
praise  of  the  army  commander.  They  were  cited 
in  orders  for  their  excellent  work  and  no  regi- 
ment of  engineers  in  the  army  did  better  work  of 
this  character.  At  the  time  they  were  serving  as 
corps  engineers  for  the  first  corps  and  during  the 
time  they  were  employed  in  the  St.  Mihiel  drive 
they  constructed  more  than  five  kilometers  of  road, 
or  a  complete  highway  between  Regnieville  and 
Triaucourt.  Until  this  task  was  completed  the  men 


Operations  of  the  tilth  Engineers  253 

worked  night  and  day.  They  were  separated  into 
three  detachments  and  the  way  for  the  heavy  traf- 
fic was  prepared  with  amazing  rapidity.  The  en- 
tire construction  had  been  accomplished  in  less 
than   five  days. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  road  building  be- 
tween Regnieville  and  Triaucourt  the  regiment 
was  allowed  to  rest  one  day  and  then  started  on 
a  march  across  the  rear  of  the  American  forces  at 
the  front,  with  its  destination  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  Argonne  Forest.  During  the  next  six  days 
and  nights  the  road  builders  were  moving  west- 
ward. The  daylight  marches  soon  were  abandoned. 
The  troops  rested  during  the  day  and  marched  at 
night  in  order  to  avoid  observation  from  the 
enemy.  This  was  brought  about  largely  due  to 
the  fact  that  while  passing  through  the  town  of 
Blenod  the  enemy  had  secured  observation  that 
enabled  him  to  bring  a  concentration  on  the  entire 
column  including  the  trains.  Poor  marksmanship 
however  left  the  engineers  little  the  worse  for  this, 
only  three  men  being  wounded  and  none  killed. 

At  the  end  of  the  period  of  marching  the  regi- 
ment established  headquarters  at  Camp  Beaudelle, 
in  the  Argonne  wood  near  Les  Islettes  a  few  miles 
west  of  Clermont.  This  was  September  22,  four 
days  before  the  beginning  of  the  general  assault 
by  the  First  American  Army  between  the  Meuse 
and  the  Aisne  and  which  has  been  referred  to  gen- 
erally as  the  battle  of  the  Argonne.  The  camp  at 
Les  Islettes  was  in  the  heart  of  the  Argonne  Forest 
proper.  During  the  next  two  days  the  regiment 
moved  to  Boureuilles  and  Vauquois,  two  small 
towns  just  to  the  south  of  Varennes,  made  famous 


254  The  Story  of  the  36th 

as  the  city  in  which  Louis  XVI  and  Marie  Antoin- 
ette were  intercepted  in  their  flight  to  safety  dur- 
ing the  French  revolution.  This  was  around  the 
point  known  as  Hill  260  and  the  regiment  arrived 
in  position  in  time  to  follow  up  the  assault  that  had 
driven  the  Germans  back  from  the  old  line  and 
started  the  long  battle  that  was  to  end  only  with 
the  capture  of  Sedan  and  the  declaration  of  the 
armistice. 

Here  again  the  work  of  constructing  roads 
while  the  ground  was  being  shelled  by  the  heaviest 
guns  of  the  enemy  was  the  task  assigned  the  111th 
and  again  good  fortune  favored  them.  Although 
other  units  in  the  same  vicinity,  notably  the  110th 
Engineers  of  the  Thirty-fifth  Division,  suffered 
heavy  casualties,  only  a  few  of  the  men  from  the 
Thirty-sixth  were  hit.  Company  D,  organized  at 
Tulsa,  Oklahoma,  had  the  distinction  of  going 
through  the  entire  campaign  without  a  casualty. 
While  working  around  Hill  260  a  giant  German 
shell  came  over  and  exploding  in  the  midst  of  a 
group  working  on  the  roads  almost  wiped  out  a 
whole  platoon  of  the  110th  Engineers  but  failed 
to  harm  any  of  the  personnel  of  the  111th.  About 
the  same  time  a  Captain  of  the  111th  Engineers  was 
eating  his  lunch  when  an  enemy  airplane  came 
over  and  sprayed  the  ground  with  bullets.  One 
of  these  dashed  the  officers  mess  kit  from  his  hand 
but  failed  to  touch  his  person. 

From  the  vicinity  of  Varennes  the  regiment 
worked  its  way  northward  behind  various  combat 
divisions,  passing  through  Apremont,  Sommerance, 
St.  Juvin,  St.  Georges,  Imecourt,  Sivry,  Buzancy, 
St.  Pierremont,  Oches  and  Le  Besace  to  Raucourt, 


Operations  of  the  iJlth  Engineers  255 

only  a  short  distance  south  of  Sedan.  As  in  the  op- 
eration against  the  St.  Mihiel  salient  the  regiment 
was  divided  into  three  detachments  and  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  drive  against  Sedan  was  enabled 
to  keep  up  with  the  advance  of  the  infantry  only 
by  dint  of  the  most  strenuous  marching  as  well  as 
incessant  labors  to  keep  the  roads  in  condition  for 
the  advance  of  the  artillery. 

The  engineers  were  in  position  at  Raucourt 
November  11  when  the  armistice  was  signed  and 
immediately  turned  their  faces  southward  out  of 
the  line  for  the  first  time  since  their  entry  into  it 
before  the  St.  Mihiel  attack.  As  corps  engineers 
they  had  been  called  upon  to  do  only  road  con- 
struction and  at  no  time  had  been  sent  into  the 
front  line  positions  as  frequently  had  been  the  case 
with  division  engineers,  but  often  they  were  under 
fire  of  the  enemy's  artillery  and  were  made  the 
targets  for  enemy  bombing  squadrons  as  well  as 
"boche"   airplanes  armed   with  machine  guns. 

In  the  advance  from  south  of  Varennes  to  the 
final  objective  south  of  Sedan  they  had  been  in 
close  touch  with  some  of  the  most  famous  fighting 
of  the  war.  The  assault  of  the  Thirty-fifth  Divi- 
sion from  the  initial  point  in  the  drive  to  Charpen- 
try  and  beyond,  the  desperate  drive  of  the  First 
Division  over  the  defenses  of  Hill  240,  Hill  272 
and  through  the  German  defenses  to  the  Kriem- 
hilde  Stellung,  the  smashing  of  that  famous  line 
by  the  Fifth  Corps  and  later  the  record  breaking 
marches  and  assaults  against  Mouzon  and  Sedan, 
all  took  place  immediately  in  front  of  the  engineers* 
Probably  no  other  organization  in  the  army  was 
in    closer   touch    with    these    great      battles      than 


256  The  Story  of  the  36th 

the  regiment  of  road  builders  from  Oklahoma  and 
Texas. 

In  the  advance  the  men  were  called  upon  to 
construct  all  kinds  of  roads.  Most  of  the  work 
had  to  be  of  a  temporary  nature,  especially  in  the 
latter  stages  of  the  fighting  When  the  greatest 
pressure  was  being  brought  to  bear  to  keep  the  ar- 
tillery up  with  the  infantry.  In  addition  to  the 
construction  of  the  roads  the  engineers  were  called 
upon  to  assist  the  military  police  in  the  regulation 
of  traffic,  designating  which  roads  could  be  used 
by  heavily  laden  trucks  and  which  were  suitable 
for  the   passage  of  heavy  artillery. 

In  connection  with  the  work  of  building  roads 
the  regiment  accomplished  a  task  that  again  won 
for  it  the  praise  of  the  army  chiefs.  Taking  over 
the  corduroy  road  which  formed  a  detour  of  a 
quarter  mile  around  the  main  highway  at  Briulles, 
the  regiment  was  directed  to  rebuild  with  plank 
the  main  highway  which  had  been  destroyed  by 
heavy  shelling.  The  minimum  space  of  time  was 
set  for  the  construction  of  the  road  by  the  chief  en- 
gineer of  the  corps  but  the  men  set  to  work  with 
such  a  will  that  in  addition  to  making  endless  re- 
pairs on  the  corduroy  road  they  completed  their 
task  forty-five  minutes  ahead  of  the  limit  set  by 
the  chief  engineer. 

During  its  whole  tour  of  duty  at  the  front, 
covering  two  months  under  fire  the  111th  Engineers 
lost  only  one  man  killed  and  nine  wounded.  The 
number  of  men  sick  in  the  hospital  also  was  corre- 
spondingly small,  probably  the  most  exceptional 
record  of  any  organization  engaged  in  similar  duty 
in  the  army. 


Operations  of  the  lllth  Engineers  257 

Arriving  in  the  Tonnerre  area  about  the  same 
time  as  the  infantry  the  engineers  again  were  as- 
signed the  task  of  keeping  up  the  roads  in  the 
Sixteenth  Training  Area  and  throughout  the  win- 
ter had  their  hands  full.  The  heavy  trucks  haul- 
ing supplies  to  all  parts  of  the  area  soon  cut  the 
roads  so  badly  that  they  were  almost  impassable 
in  places  and  it  was  necessarj'  to  augment  the 
forces  of  engineers  with  details  from  the  infantry. 
At  the  front  the  roads  had  been  maintained  by  the 
use  of  stone  taken  from  demolished  houses  in  the 
villages  but  this  could  not  be  done  in  the  Tonnerre 
area  where  it  was  necessary  to  blast  rock  from 
the  quarries  and  haul  it  over  great  distances  to  the 
point:;  where  it  was  needed  most. 

Due  to  the  fact  that  there  were  few  casual- 
ties in  the  regiment  there  were  few  changes  in 
the  personnel  of  the  officers,  most  of  those  who  went 
to  Europe  with  the  command  remained  with  it  and 
returned  to  the  United  States  in  the  same  capaci- 
ties that  they  had  occupied  in  going  over. 


258 


The  Story  of  the  S6th 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HOME  AGAIN. 

Hardships  were  the  rule  when  the  Thirty-sixth 
Division  first  arrived  in  the  Tonnerre  area.  As 
a  usual  thing  the  billets  provided  for  the  enlisted 
men  were  of  the  poorest  character,  beds  often 
being  on  the  ground  and  many  being  quartered  in 
stables.  Just  prior  to  the  departure  from  the  Triau- 
court  area  a  large  number  of  casuals  had  been  as- 
signed to  the  division  and  these  had  not  reached 
their  organizations  until  the  march  had  begun. 
Most  of  these  men  were  not  completely  equipped 
and  under  the  bad  conditions  that  existed  at  first 
in  the  Tonnerre  area  they  suffered  severely.  By 
hard  work  and  excellent  supervision,  however, 
most  of  the  poor  conditions  were  overcome  within 
the  course  of  two  months.  Billets  were  cleaned 
thoroughly  and  beds  were  constructed  by  the  use 
of  planks  and  wire  netting.  Stoves  were  impro- 
vised and  continual  labor  prevented  the  mud  from 
becoming  impassable  for  supply  trucks. 

The  greatest  shortage  was  in  shoes,  many  of 
the  men  having  become  almost  barefoot  from  long 
marching  on  the  hard  roads.  In  some  cases  it  be- 
came necessary  to  relieve  these  men  from  all  duty 
until  they  could  be  supplied  with  new  shoes.  This 
was  done  during  the  month  of  December  when 
additional  clothing  was  also  supplied.  At  no  time 
was  there  sufficient  wood  for  the  demands  of  the 
command.  Most  of  the  men  and  officers  were  com- 
pelled to  secure  additional  fuel  besides  that  issued 

[259] 


260  The  Story  of  the  S6th 

by  the  supply  department.  Fortunately  the  win- 
ter was  mild  as  compared  to  the  winters  preceding 
and  the  health  of  the  command  was  excellent  at  all 
times.  It  continued  to  grow  better  month  after 
month  until  during  April  only  about  nine  men  out 
of  every  thousand  were  carried  on  the  sick  re- 
ports and  most  of  these  were  suffering  from  minor 
ills.  Other  divisions  suffered  severely  from  in- 
fluenza during  the  winter  but  in  the  Thirty-sixth 
there  were  only  160  cases.  In  addition  to  these 
there  were  111  cases  of  pneumonia  and  thirteen 
cases  of  menengitis,  causing  five  deaths.  The  rate 
of  venereal  disease  in  the  division  was  remarkably 
low.  It  was  less  than  half  the  rate  recorded  in  the 
examination  of  men  for  military  service  in  the 
states  of  Texas  and  Oklahoma  during  the  war  and 
was  more  than  a  third  less  than  the  rate  for  the 
entire  American  Expeditionary  Forces.  The  deaths 
from  all  diseases  during  the  stay  in  the  Tonnerre 
area  was  about  three  men  per  thousand  as  com- 
pared to  the  death  rate  of  fifteen  per  thousand  in 
the  United  States.  This  high  state  of  health  was 
due  to  the  close  supervision  of  sanitation  by  all  offi- 
cers from  the  division  commander  down  to  the 
lieutenants  commanding  platoons.  The  men  were 
required  to  take  baths  regularly  by  roster  and  a 
system  of  examinations  and  inspections  prevented 
any  illness  from  existing  more  than  a  day  without 
becoming  known  to  the  surgeons. 

Athletes  entablished  an  enviable  record  dur- 
ing the  winter.  The  division  football  team  com- 
posed of  players  for  the  most  part  from  the  col- 
leges of  Texas  and  Oklahoma,  but  which  was 
headed    by     Captain    Wilmot    Whitney,     Harvard, 


Home  Again  261 

fought  its  way  to  the  final  game  at  Paris  before  it 
was  defeated.  It  won  the  championship  of  the 
First  Army  Corps  by  defeating  the  teams  from  the 
Seventy-ninth  Division,  Eightieth  Division  and  First 
Corps  Troops,  in  turn.  Then  it  won  the  champion- 
ship of  the  First  Army  by  defeating  the  crack  elev- 
en from  the  Twenty-ninth  Division,  champions  of 
the  Fifth  Corps.  The  Seventh  Division  team, 
champion  of  the  Second  Army  was  the  next  team 
to  be  defeated,  being  overcome  at  Bar-sur-Aube  in 
a  game  which  was  watched  by  General  Pershing, 
King  Albert  and  Queen  Elizabeth  of  Belgium,  Lieu- 
tenant General  Hunter  Liggett  and  Lieutenant  Gen- 
eral Robert  L.  Bullard  as  well  as  other  notables- 
The  final  battle  was  staged  at  Prince  Park  in  Paris 
where  the  Eighty-ninth  Division  team,  champions 
of  the  Third  Army,  was  encountered.  In  a  clean 
but  hard-fought  game  the  Eighty-ninth  Division 
team  won  by  a  score  of  14  to  6,  and  probably  the 
most  bitter  part  of  the  defeat  was  the  fact  that 
Lindsay,  one  of  the  half  backs  of  the  winning  team,, 
was  the  chief  ground  gainer  for  the  victors  and 
lived  in   Oklahoma. 

In  military  framing  the  men  of  the  division 
also  established  their  superiority.  During  a  mili- 
tary tournament,  or  fete,  at  Tonnerre,  March  15, 
the  teams  representing  the  division  won  every  de- 
cision but  two  in  ten  events  and  so  far  outclassed 
their  opponents  in  most  of  the  events  that  there 
was  little  competition.  These  competitions  in- 
cluded rifle  and  piscol  firing,  wall  scaling,  bayonet 
fighting,  signalling  and  various  other  feats  neces- 
sary to  the  proper  training  of  efficient  soldiers.  In 
this    competition    the    platoon    from    Company    A, 


2:62  The  Story  of  the  36th 

142d  Infantry,  was  declared  to  be  one  of  the  most 
proficient  in  close  order  drill  ever  exhibited  by 
the  army.  All  of  the  organizations  of  the  First 
Army  Corps   were  represented   in  the  tournament. 

Later  in  the  spring  the  First  Battalion  of  the 
143d  Infantry  after  gaining  the  right  to  represent 
the  division  in  a  maneuver  competition,  won  first 
place  in  the  corps  competition  and  second  place  in 
the  maneuver  competitions  held  by  the  army. 

Besides  the  football  competitions,  basketball 
and  baseball  games  were  played  throughout  the 
spring.  Each  regiment  and  many  smaller  units  had 
organized  baseball  teams  and  each  company  had  a 
basketball  team. 

Schools  were  established  in  every  town  in  the 
area  and  the  work  of  organizing  these  was  pushed 
to  such  an  extent  that  thousands  of  men  were  afford- 
forded  their  first  opportunities  for  studying  mathe- 
matics as  well  as  the  more  advanced  courses  of 
study  in  English  and  history.  These  schools  were 
taught  by  officers  and  competent  enlisted  men  and 
served  to  enable  many  of  the  men  to  occupy  their 
evenings  when  otherwise  time  would  have  hung 
heavily  on  their  hands. 

Recreation  also  was  developed  in  every  pos- 
sible way.  Besides  the  troupes  of  entertainers 
brought  into  the  area  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  other 
organizations  the  various  companies  formed  small 
theatrical  troupes  and  toured  the  division  area. 
Some  of  the  regiments,  notably  the  142d  Infantry 
organized  splendid  companies  of  entertainers.  The 
142d  Infantry  troupe  later  was  adopted  by  the  di- 
vision and  placed  on  the  circuit  for  the  entire  A 


Home  Again  263 

E.  F.  It  gave  a  performance  in  Paris  before  the 
division  sailed  for  the  United  States. 

Early  in  December,  leaves  w^ere  granted  for 
officers  and  men  and  these  continued  to  be  issued 
throughout  the  winter  and  spring  until  every  man 
in  the  division  had  been  given  an  opportunity  to 
visit  Southern  France,  Italy  or  England.  The  great- 
er number  of  officers  as  well  as  men  visited  the  Ri- 
veria  along  the  Medeterranean  and  at  some  time 
nearly  every  member  of  the  division  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  go  to  Paris.  More  than  2,000  visited  the 
French  capital  to  see  the  final  football  game  and 
each  week  during  the  late  spring  a  number  of 
leaves  to  Paris  were  granted. 

The  conduct  of  the  officers  and  men  in  the 
leave  areas  in  the  south  of  France  caused  the  high- 
est commendation  from  the  officers  in  charge  of  the 
areas.  The  enlisted  men  were  taken  to  and  from 
the  areas  in  special  trains  and  were  furnished 
with  lodging  while  at  the  leave  areas.  The  rec- 
ords of  the  division  showed  that  about  18,000  offi- 
cers and  men  were  permitted  to  go  on  leave  during 
the  spring  and  winter  and  that  reports  of  miscon- 
duct were  made  against  only  eighteen  of  these. 
Most  of  these  reports  were  of  such  a  minor  nature 
as  not  to  be  considered  and  the  only  one  of  a  ser- 
ious character  was  never  proved. 

In  addition  to  the  schools  conducted  by  the 
division  itself,  the  schools  and  universities  of  both 
France  and  England  were  offered  to  many  officers 
and  men.  These  were  taken  advantage  of  to  the 
fullest  extent,  especially  those  offering  courses  in 
languages  and  the  arts  and  sciences. 


264  The  Storu  of  the  36th 

Without  warning  the  Commander  in  Chief 
visited  and  inspected  the  division  March  9.  The 
entire  command  was  assembled  a  short  distance 
north  of  Tonnerre  and  marched  in  review.  Prior 
to  the  review  General  Pershing  inspected  every 
rank  and  file  of  the  assembled  forces  and  decorat- 
ed several  officers  and  men  with  the  Distinguished 
Service  Cross.  At  the  same  time  he  decorated  the 
colors  of  the  various  organizations  in  the  division 
with  the  battle  streamers  earned  at  the  front. 
The  ribbons  on  the  flags  bear  the  inscription: 
"Meuse-Argonne  Offensive  (Champagne  Sector)". 
Addressing  the  assembled  officers  and  soldiers  at 
the  close  of  the  review  the  general  spoke  of  the 
splendid  manner  in  which  they  had  borne  them- 
selves at  the  front  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they 
had  not  been  afforded  the  usual  preparation  in  a 
quiet  sector,  that  had  been  given  to  most  of  the 
divisions.  He  urged  them  to  maintain  the  high 
state  of  discipline  and  morale  that  had  been  ob- 
served in  the  past  and  return  to  the  United  States 
with  a  record  of  which  they  might  remain  proud 
through  the  balan'^e  of  time. 

After  his  departure  from  the  area  General 
Pershing  expressed  his  appreciation  for  the  fine 
appearance  of  the  division  and  its  showing 
against  the  enemy  in  the  followmg  letter  to  the 
division   commander: 

"My  dear   General   Smith: — 

It  was  with  great  pleasure  that  on 
April  9th,  I  inspected  and  reviewed  the 
36th  Division  north  of  Tonnerre.  In  noting 
the  splendid  physical  condition  of  its  per- 


Home  Again  265 

sonnel,  I  could  well  see  why  your  combat 
record  in  France,  though  short  compared 
with  some  others,  is  one  of  which  all  ranks 
may  well  be  proud. 

"Arriving'  in  Europe  toward  the  end  of 
July,  the  36th  Division  was  at  once  sent 
to  an  area  near  Bar-sur-Aube,  where  for 
two  months  it  followed  the  regular  course 
of  training  which  had  been  prepared.  In 
October,  however,  as  the  great  Allied  at- 
tack was  nearing  a  crisis,  it  was  thrown 
directly  into  the  active  battle  without  the 
usual  preliminary  month's  training  in  a 
quiet  sector  of  the  line.  In  this  emerg- 
ency the  division  responded  to  every  call 
made  upon  it.  With  the  veteran  2d  Di- 
vision it  operated  under  the  Fourth  French 
Army  in  its  drive  west  of  the  Argonne, 
which  was  made  in  conjunction  with  the 
Meuse-Argonne  attack  of  the  First  United 
States  Army.  The  71st  Brigade  on  Octo- 
ber 8th,  attacked  from  St.  Etienne-a- 
Arnes.  On  the  11th  the  entire  division  was 
in  and  advanced  in  the  next  two  days  ap- 
proximately twenty-one  kilometers  to  the 
Aisne  River.  Continuous  contact  was  kept 
with  the  enemy  while  preparations  were 
made  for  crossing  the  Aisne.  No  further 
advance,  however,  was  made,  although 
on  October  27th,  the  troops  of  the  71st 
Brigade  attacked  and  captured  Forest 
Farm.  The  Division  was  relieved  October 
29th. 


266  The  Story  of  the  36th 

"The  bearing-  of  the  Division  in  this, 
its  first  experience  in  battle,  showed  the 
mettle  of  officers  and  men,  and  gave  prom- 
ise of  what  it  would  become  as  a  veteran. 
Please,  therefore,  extend  my  congratula- 
tions to  the  members  of  your  Division, 
who  may  return  home  proud  of  the  record 
of  their  services,  with  the  knowledge  that 
they  have  acquitted  themselves  well  as 
part  of  the  American  Expeditionary  Forces. 
"Very  sincerely  yours, 

JOHN  J.   PERSHING, 
General,   Commander  in   Chief, 
Am.  E.   F." 

Relations  between  the  personnel  of  the  di- 
vision and  the  populace  of  the  French  towns  in 
which  they  were  billeted,  were  the  most  cordial. 
In  some  instances  there  was  friction  caused  by  the 
misunderstandings  of  both,  but  in  view  of  the  dif- 
ference in  languages  and  temperament  these  may 
by  said  to  be  extremely  few.  The  French  langu- 
age was  learned  rapidly  by  officers  and  men  and 
there  were  many  occasions  when  the  troops  were 
entertained  in  the  homes  of  the  French  people. 
Evidence  of  these  relations  is  best  given  by  the 
fact  that  one  officer  and  eight  enlisted  men  of  the 
division  carried  French  brides  home  with  them 
when  the  command  finally  departed.  During  the 
spring  there  was  a  series  of  farewell  dances  given 
by  the  various  organizations  of  the  division  to 
which  a  great  many  French  civilians,  men  and 
women  were  invited. 


Home  Again  267 

In  the  Tonnerre  area  the  officers  and  men  of 
the  division  found  many  interesting  places  to  visit. 
Near  the  headquarters  of  the  Seventy-first  Infan- 
try Brigade,  located  in  the  town  of  Flogny,  was 
an  old  Roman  camp  that  had  been  occupied  by  the 
troops  of  the  Caesars  when  they  garrisoned  various 
places  in  France  from  500  to  800  A.  D.  and  the 
chateau  occupied  by  Brigadier  General  Pegram 
Whitworth  and  his  staff  was  the  site  of  one  of  the 
most  famous  castles  in  central  France.  Souvenir 
hunters  among  the  soldiers  of  the  142d  Infantry 
dug  up  a  quantity  of  old  Roman  coins  in  the  Ro- 
man cemetery  near  the  camp.  In  nearly  every 
village  in  the  area  the  churches  afforded  matters 
of  the  greatest  interest  to  students  of  religious 
histoiT,  some  of  the  buildings  being  very  distinc- 
tive of  architectural  periods.  At  Tanlay,  where 
the  Seventy-second  Brigade  headquarters  was  lo- 
cated there  was  a  castle  surrounded  by  a  moat 
filled  with  water  and  this  was  an  unceasing  ob- 
ject of  interest  to  the  soldiers  billeted  in  the  area. 
Tonnerre  itself  abounded  in  interesting  places,  one 
of  which  was  a  great  spring  that  sent  forth  a 
volume  of  water  two  feet  in  diameter. 

As  soon  as  the  troops  had  become  comforta- 
bly situated  in  their  billets  once  more  a  schedule 
of  training  was  carried  out.  The  new  men  receiv- 
ed during  the  march  from  the  Triaucourt  area  had 
to  be  taken  through  a  course  of  instruction  to  de- 
termine what  places  they  were  to  fill  in  each  com- 
pany and  similar  organization  and  every  phase  of 
military  training  was  taken  up.  For  many  months 
after  the  division  reached  the  Sixteenth  Training 
Area  there  was  no  intimation  that  it  would  be  sent 


268  The  Story  of  the  36th 

home  until  practically  all  of  the  troops  in  Europe 
had  been  shipped  back  to  the  United  States.  From 
time  to  time  orders  were  published  setting  forth 
the  dates  upon  which  various  divisions  would  go  to 
Le  Mans  and  from  there  to  the  port  of  embarka- 
tion but  the  name  of  the  Thirty-sixth  appeared  in 
none  of  these  lists.  Resulting  from  this  it  was 
rumored  that  the  division  would  be  sent  to  the 
Army  of  Occupation  in  Germany  to  relieve  one  of 
the  divisions  of  drafted  men  on  duty  there  but 
there  proved  to  be  no  foundation  for  this.  Dur- 
ing the  course  of  training  there  was  a  complete 
schedule  of  instruction  with  the  rifle,  the  automatic 
rifle  and  the  machine  gun.  Ranges  for  extensive 
firing  with  the  rifle  were  not  available  on  account 
of  the  nature  of  the  terrain,  which  was  flat  and 
afforded  no  hills  into  which  the  riflemen  might 
direct  their  bullets  in  order  to  prevent  them  from 
doing  harm.  There  were  maneuvers  of  all  kinds 
however,  including  several  in  which  the  entire 
division  was  engaged  and  numerous  contests  were 
conducted  to  keep  alive  the  interest  of  the  men. 

While  the  infantry  and  other  branches  of  the 
division  in  the  Tonnerre  area  were  going  through 
this  course  of  training  the  Sixty-first  Field  Artil- 
lery Brigade  was  being  prepared  at  Camp  de 
Coetquidan  for  return  to  the  United  States.  Or- 
ders for  the  brigade  to  turn  in  all  equipment  and 
animals  to  the  various  depots  of  supply  and  coun- 
termanding the  orders  to  join  the  division,  were 
issued.  Inspections,  preparatory  to  the  return 
trip  across  the   Atlantic  became  the  routine  work. 

Brigadier  General  Stephens  who  had  been  in 
command  of  the  brigade  from  the  time  it  left  the 


Home  Again  269 

United  States  for  France,  became  ill  with  pneu- 
monia the  latter  part  of  December  and  died  Jan- 
uary 4,  at  the  hospital  at  Camp  de  Coetquidan. 
He  was  buried  in  the  camp  cemetery  with  mili- 
taiy  honors  befitting  his  rank  and  in  the  presence 
of  high  officials  of  the  French  army.  The  fun- 
eral oration  was  delivered  by  Lieutenant  General 
d'Amade,  commanding  the  Tenth  Region,  French 
army,  in  which  he  paid  eloquent  tribute  to  General 
Stephens  as  being  representative  of  the  fine  body 
of  American  artillery  officers  sent  abroad  by  the 
United  States.  Command  of  the  brigade  was  as- 
sumed by  Colonel  F.  A.  Logan,  of  the  133d  Field 
Artillery,  until  sometime  in  February  when  he 
was  relieved  by  Colonel  Otho  W.  B.  Farr  of  the 
regular  army.  The  brigade  was  reviewed  by 
General  Pershing,  February  23,  and  a  week  later 
the  movement  to  the  ports  of  embarkation  was 
begun.  The  regiments  of  the  brigade  were  to- 
gether for  the  last  time  at  Camp  de  Coetquidan. 
Each  was  transported  by  rail  to  St.  Nazaire  and 
from  there  they  sailed  to  Newport  News,  Va. 
From  Newport  News  the  131st  Field  Artillery  was 
sent  to  Camp  Travis,  near  San  Antonio,  Texas,  for 
demobilization  while  the  132d  and  133d  regi- 
ments were   sent  to   Camp   Bowie. 

There  were  few  changes  in  the  personnel  of 
the  artillery  brigade  officers  during  the  stay  in 
Europe.  Some  were  transferred  to  other  branches 
of  activity  immediately  before  the  brigade  was 
shipped  back  to  the  United  States  but  the  great 
majority  of  the  personnel  returned  home  with  the 
troops  and  were  demobilized  at  the  same  time. 
Colonel   Logan   alone   of  the    colonels   remained   in 


270 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


Home  Again  271 

the  service  temporarily  as  demobilization  officers 
at  Camp  Bowie. 

Without  warning  the  commanding  general  of 
the  Thirty-sixth  also  erceived  order  to  prepare 
and  move  to  the  Le  Mans  area,  preparatory  to 
going  home.  This  order  was  sent  by  telegraph 
April  10,  and  was  out  of  a  clear  sky,  no  intimation 
having  been  given  from  General  Headquarters 
up  to  that  time  that  the  division  would  be  sent 
home  before  the  middle  of  the  summer.  The 
command  was  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the 
Service  of  Supply  April  15,  when  the  work  of 
turnmg  over  all  properties  was  begun  and  within 
a  few  days  reports  were  made  that  all  organiza- 
tions were  ready  to  entrain.  The  advance  party 
started  for  the  Le  Mans  area  April  26,  and  the 
division  as  a  whole  arrived  there  during  the  first 
few  days  of   May. 

Again  in  the  LeMans  area  the  division  es- 
tablished an  enviable  reputation  for  discipline, 
preparedness  and  ability  to  take  care  of  itself  at 
all  times.  The  inspectors'  reports  forwarded  to 
the  Commander  in  Chief  showed  that  the  divi- 
sion was  in  the  highest  state  of  preparation  for 
returning  home  and  the  orders  issued  by  the  divi- 
sion commander  for  the  inspection  were  forwarded 
as  a  model  for  other  divisions  passing  through  the 
area.  The  inspectors  declared  that  no  other  divi- 
sion of  all  those  returning  home  had  made  a  better 
showing  than  the  Texans  and  Oklahomans.  The 
men  presented  a  splendid  appearance,  all  of  them 
wearing  the  shoulder  insignia  of  the  division  and 
having  their  clothes  fitted  properly.  The  insignia 
was  an  arrowhead  of  blue  upon  which  was  super- 


272  The  Story  of  the  36th 

imposed  the  letter  "T,"  all  on  a  circular  disk  of 
khaki.  The  "T"  also  was  of  khaki,  and  repre- 
sented the  Texas  contingent  of  the  division  while 
the  arrow  head  represented  the  Oklahomans.  This 
insignia  had  been  adopted  while  the  division  was 
in  the  area  north  of  Bar-le-Duc  immediately  after 
signing  of  the  armistice  when  all  divisions  in  the 
the  Expeditionary  Forces  were  directed  to  submit 
designs  for  approval  at  G.   H.  Q. 

The  first  contingents  of  the  division  to  start 
for  Brest  and  from  there  to  the  United  States  left 
Le  Mans  the  morning  of  May  17,  and  within  a 
few  days  all  had  arrived  at  the  port  and  were 
placed  on  board  the  transports  with  an  average 
wait  of  three  days.  Again  at  Brest  the  various 
units  were  required  to  go  through  the  delousing 
process  which  already  had  been  conducted  at  Le 
Mans  and  with  more  or  less  frequency  in  the 
Tonnerre  area.  Also  additional  equipment  and 
clothing  was  issued  at  Brest  where  it  was  needed. 
Before  leaving  the  Tonnerre  area  a  large  number 
of  officers  had  been  ordered  to  join  the  Army  of 
Occupation  in  Germany  and  during  the  stay  at 
Le  Mans  still  other  officers  were  assigned  to  duty 
in  France,  some  going  to  Tours  and  others  to  var- 
ious places  of  activity  in  the  Service  of  Supply. 

Just  before  the  sailing  of  division  headquar- 
ters the  following  letter  of  farewell  was  delivered 
by  the  Republic  of  France  through  its  representa- 
tive at  Brest: 


Home  Again  273 

"FRENCH  REPUBLIC 
Paris,  May   19th,  1919. 

"French  Premier 
Minister  of  War 

"From :   The   French   President,    Minister  for   War. 
"To:    Commanding    General,    36th    Division,    U.    S. 

"My  dear  General: 

I  am  so  happy  to  extend  to  the  36th  Division 
U.  S.,  when  it  is  going  to  leave  France,  the  cor- 
dial greeting   of  the   Government  of  the   Republic. 

"Your  division  arrived  in  France  at  the  time 
when  the  great  battle  was  in  progress  which  was 
to  decide  the  fate  of  the  war.  It  took  a  glorious 
part  in  it.  The  fighting  which  it  did  from  the 
8th  of  October,  and  which  led  to  the  Aisne,  be- 
tween Attigny  and  Givry,  proved  the  valor  and 
the  spirit  of  discipline  of  your  soldiers. 

"I  send  them  my  affectionate  wishes  at  the 
time  when  they  go  back  to  their  homes.  I  wish 
that  the  remembrances  of  their  Campaign  in 
France  remain  lively  in  their  hearts.  France  will 
not  forget  the  generous  help  which  they  brought 
to  her. 

"Believe,  my  dear  General,  in  the  assurance 
of  my  very  devoted  feelings. 

For  the  Premier, 
and  by  his   order, 

The  General  Commission  for  Franco-Ameri- 
can   War    Affairs 

(Signed)    ANDRE   TARDIEU." 


274 


The  Storv  of  the  36th 


Home  Again  275 

On  the  return  trip  to  the  United  States  heavy 
seas  were  encountered  and  two  men  of  the  142d 
Infantry,  on  board  the  cruiser  Denver,  were  wash- 
ed overboard  and  drowned.  These  were  Corpor- 
al Harry  S.  Hovey  of  Company  E,  and  Private 
Joseph  C.  Strong  of  Company  H.  Otherwise  the 
voyage  was  pleasant  for  all.  Instead  of  crossing 
the  ocean  in  convoy  as  had  been  the  case  before, 
each  transport  set  out  for  itself  and  arrived  at 
different  harbors  in  the  east.  The  142d  Infantry 
debarked  at  Boston,  the  143d  Infantry  at  New- 
port News,  from  which  place  it  also  had  embarked 
for  Europe,  while  the  balance  of  the  division  land- 
ed at  Hoboken,  All  were  taken  to  the  camps 
adjacent  to  the  ports  preparatory  to  shipment  to 
the  demobilization  points  and  once  more  required 
to  pass  through  the  delousing  system.  Replace- 
ments who  had  joined  the  division  in  France  and 
who  lived  in  other  parts  of  the  country  were  sep- 
arated from  their  organizations  at  the  camps  in 
the  east  and  bade  goodbye. 

Just  before  going  aboard  ship  to  embark  for 
Galveston  instead  of  going  overland  by  rail,  the 
141st  Infantry  was  discovered  to  have  several  men 
afflicted  with  smallpox  and  the  organization  was 
placed  in  quarantine  at  Camp  Mills  for  seventeen 
days.  The  balance  of  the  division  was  taken  by 
rail  to  Camp  Bowie  for  demobilization,  several  of 
the  organizations  parading  at  various  points  in 
Oklahoma  and  Texas  on  the  way  to  Fort  Worth. 
At  all  of  these  places  they  were  received  with 
ovations,  particularly  in  Oklahoma  City  where 
the  142d  Infantry  marched  through  the  streets. 


276  The  Story  of  the  36th 

As  rapidly  as  possible  men  and  officers  were 
mustered  out  of  the  service  at  Camp  Bowie  and 
allowed  to  return  to  their  homes.  Most  of  the 
officers  accepted  leaves  of  absence  for  fifteen  days 
in  order  that  they  might  adjust  themselves  to  the 
conditions  in  civil  life,  but  a  few  remained  in  the 
service  temporarily  on  recruiting  duty  for  the 
army. 

Although  in  the  line  facing  the  enemy  but  a 
comparatively  short  time  the  division  had  earned 
an  enviable  record  overseas.  In  its  assault  against 
the  "boche"  around  St.  Etienne  and  its  subsequent 
advance  of  twenty-one  kilometers  to  the  Aisne 
River,  the  news  dispatches  of  the  world  declared 
that  it  had  "taken  a  glorious  part  in  the  world's 
history."  In  its  fighting  it  had  captured  three 
pieces  of  heavy  artillery,  six  pieces  of  light  artil- 
lery, four  howitzers,  17  trench  mortars  and  277 
machine  guns  besides  small  arms  such  as  rifles 
and  pistols  in  great  quantities.  It  is  estimated 
that  the  amount  of  munitions  and  material  cap- 
tured by  the  advance  to  the  Aisne  was  valued  at 
$10,000,000  or  more.  Certainly  it  was  reported 
that  the  German  supply  of  gas  shells  captured  at 
Mont  St.  Reny  was  the  largest  that  ever  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Allies.  Every  kind  of  warfare 
was  experienced  by  the  troops  and  in  all  they  per- 
formed with  credit.  It  had  captured  prisoners 
each  time  that  prisoners  were  asked  for  by  the 
higher  commanders.  No  troops  could  have  be- 
haved with  better  morale  under  the  worst  possi- 
ble conditions  and  while  the  division  might  have 
suffered  less  losses  with  more  experienced  leader- 
ship   and    more    intimate    knowledge    of    conditions 


Home  Again  277 

at  the  front,  yet  it  accomplished  the  tasks  assign- 
ed  to  it  and  accomplished  them  well.  It  suffered 
twenty-three  officers  and  486  men  killed,  sixty-four 
officers  and  1,450  men  wounded,  thirty-five  otiicers 
and  427  men  gassed  and  eighty  men  missing.  The 
greater  number  of  these  losses  were  in  the  Seven- 
ly-first  iirigade  which  bore  the  brunt  of  the  fight- 
ing. 

For  the  valor  of  the  division  personnel  in 
action  two  medals  of  honor,  thirty-nine  Distin- 
guished Service  Crosses,  one  Distinguished  Ser- 
vice Medal,  and  a  great  number  of  French  deco- 
rations were  awarded  to  the  officers  and  men. 
Major  General  Smith  was  made  a  Commander  of 
the  French  Legion  of  Honor  while  four  other  offi- 
cers were  decorated  as  Chevaliers  of  the  Legion 
of  Honor.  Seven  men  were  decorated  with  the 
Medaille  Militaire,  the  highest  award  for  enlisted 
men  in  the  French  army,  while  415  officers  and 
men  were  decorated  with  the  Croix  de  Guerre. 

How  the  division  behaved  under  its  ordeal 
before  a  desperately  fighting  enemy  is  best  told  in 
the  message  of  General  Naulin,  commanding  the 
Twenty-first  Corps  of  the  Fourth  French  Army  at 
the  time  the  Thirty-sixth  first  went  into   action: 

"The  36th  Division,  U.  S.,  recently  organized, 
and  still  not  fully  equipped,  received  during  the 
night  of  6th-7th  October,  the  orders  to  relieve 
under  conditions  particularly  delicate,  the  Second 
Division,  to  drive  out  the  enemy  from  the  heights 
to  the  north  of  St.  Etienne-a-Arnes,  and  to  push 
him  back  to  the  Aisne. 

"Although  under  fire  for  the  first  time,  the 
young  soldiers  of  General  Smith,   rivaling  in   push 


278  The  Story   of  the   36th 

and  tenacity  with  the  older  and  valiant  regiments 
of  General  Lejeune,  accomplished  their  mission 
fully.  All  can  be  proud  of  the  work  done.  To 
all,  the  General  Commanding  the  Army  Corps,  is 
happy  to  express  his  cordial  appreciation,  ggrati- 
tude  and  best  wishes  for  future  successes.  The 
past  is  an  assurance  of  the  future. 

(Signed)     GENERAL  NAULIN." 


THE  HONOR  ROLL 


KILLED   IN   ACTION 

OFFICERS 

l.'ilst     InfanUii 

ALCORN,   L.  C  2d   Lieut.    Co.   K : October  8,  1918 

BURCHILL,  JOSEPH  M..  2(1  Lieut.  Co.  M October  8.  1918 

COX,    AUBREY    W.,   2d    Lieut.,    Co.    K ; .....October  9,  1918 

DREW,   WALTER    W.,   2d   Lieut.,   Co.    K October  9.  1918 

FORD.   CIL\RLES  xM.,   1st  Lieut..   Co.   D October  28.  1918 

HTJTCHINGS,   EDWIN   G.,   Major,   October  8,  1918 

KENDRICK,    HUGO    O.,    Captain,   Co.    K October  9,  1918 

LUHN,   GRAHAM    B.,  Is.-;   lieut.,   Co.    D October  8.  1918 

McKINNEY,  JOHN   C,   2d    Lieut.,   Co.   L October  8,  1918 

MORRISON,    CLYDE   T.,    1st   Lieut.,    Co.    E October  8,  1918 

OGDEN.    IRA    C.    Captain,    Co.    F October  10.  1918 

WEHNER,    CARL,   2nd   Lieut.,    Co.    K. October  9,  1918 

WRIGHT,    BENJAMIN    F..    Major.    October  8.  1918 

lJf2(l,    Infantry. 

CARRIGAN,     ALFRED     N.,     JR.,     1st     Lieut., 

Co.    L _ October  8,  1918 

COLLINS,  THOMAS  F.,  2d  Lieut.,   B October  8.  1918 

GOEBEL,   GEORGE.   2d   Lieut..    Co.    M October  8.  1918 

HANNER.    CARTER   C.    Captain,    Co.    E October  8,  1918 

HANSON.    DAVID    T.,    Captain,    Med.    Det .October  8,  1918 

HARRISON.    RICHARD.    1st    Lieut..    Co.    F October  S.  1918 

HORNKE.   EMIL  C,   2nd  Lieut.,   Co.   H October  9.  1918 

LOWERY.   KEITH,    1st   Lieut.,   Co.    C October  10,  1918 

MATHENY.   ARTHUR    J.,   1st   Lieut.,    Co.    B October  8.  1918 

PEARCE.    WILLIS  L.,    Captain.    Co.    F October  8.  1918 

132d  Machine  Gun  Battalion 

CROUCH,    HUTT,    2d    Lieut,    Co.    C October  8.  1918 

I'tlst  Infantry 

BROWN,    ARTHUR    S.,    1st   Lieut,    Med.    Det October  9.  1918 

AKINS.    SAMUEL  E.,    Private,    Co.    C October  8.  1918 

[2791 


280 


The  Story  of  the  36th 


ALLEN,    ELZA    F..    Private,    Co.    C October  S.  191S 

ALLEX.    JESSE   J..   Private,    Co.    B October  8,  1918 

ALLEN,    OTHOM    IX.,    Private,    Co.    G October  8,  1018 

ANDERSON,    FKANK.    Private,    Co.    C October  8,  1918 

ANDEKSON,    THEODORE,    Private,    Co.    C October  8.  1918 

ANTONIO,  AKES  (J.,  Private,  Co.  A October  8.  1913 

AKEItS,    JOHN    B.,    Private,    Co,    F October  8.  1918 

ARMSTRONG,    HUEY    C,    Private,    Co.    B October  8.  1918 

ARNOLD,    JACK,    Corporal,    Co.    D Octol>er  8,  1918 

ATCHLSON.    CLAUDE,    Private,    Co,    C October  10.  1918 

BAILEY,    ABE    M.,    Private,    Co.    C October  8.  1918 

BAILEY,    EARL    S.,    Private,    Co.    C October  8,  1918 

BAILEY,    EDGAR    A..    Private,    Co.    C Ocober  S.  1918 

BAKEIt.   EDDIE  A.,   Corporal,    Co.    L October  S.  1918 

BARBER,    REUBEN,    Private,    Co.    C October  8,  1918 

BAIRD,    CLARENCE    A.,    Private,    Co.    D October  8,  1918 

BARNARD,    JOHN,    Mechanic,    Co.    D October  8.  1918 

BAYLOR,   JOHN   R..    Sergeant,   Co.    C October  8.  1918 

BEDFORD,    Arthur,    Private.    Co.    B October  9,  1918 

BELL.    IVAN   A.,    Private,    Co.    K October  8.  1918 

BENNETT,   ANDREW  E.,   Private,   Co.   C October  8,  1918 

BKiDEX.    GEORGE    E.,    Sergeant,    Co.    B October  8.  191S 

BIRD\VELL,    WILL   M.,    Private,    Co.    K October  9.  1918 

BLAGKIU'RN.    I'ETER    R..    Private,    Co.    C October  8.  1918 

BLANCHETT,    FRANK    C,    Private,    Co.    C October  8,  191S 

BOLIX    ADAM,   1st    Sergeant,    Co,    B October  9.  191S 

BOOKER,   W.   E..    Private,   Co.   E October  8,  1918 

BOYD.    JESSE    J..    Private,    Co.    C October  8.  1918 

BRINKROFF.    EDMUND.    Private.    Co.    C October  8,  1918 

BROWN.    WILLIAM    W.,    Corporal,    Co.    D October  8,  1918 

BURNS,    HARRISON    B.,    Private.    Co.    K October  8.  1918 

BUSSEY,    JOHN    T.,    Private,    Co.    A October  8.  1918 

BLACKMORE.    JESSE   D.,    Private,    Co.    D October  8.  1918 

CAMPBELL,    CLYDE.    Private,    Co.    D October  8.  1918 

CAMPBELL,    WILLIAM,    Private,    Co.    E October  8,  1918 

CARILE,   HICK   R..   Private  1  cl.,   Co.   C October  8.  1918 

(JARLILE,    JAMES    W.,    Corporal,    Co.    C October  8.  1918 

CARTER.   JOHN  T..   Private  1  el..   Co.   C October  8.  1918 

CHANDLER.   ESPER  F..  Private  1  cl.,   Co.  C... .October  8.  1918 

OHOATE,    JASPER    D.,    Private.    Co.    B October  9,  1918 

CLANCY,    WILMER,    Private,    Co.    A October  9.  1918 

CLICK,    TERREL    A.,    Private,    Co.    D October  8.  1918 

COLLINS,    JIM    C,    Private,    Co.    A October  9.  1918 

CORREN,    JACK.    Corporal,    Co.    B October  8,  1918 

COX,   MARTIN  v.,   Corporal.   Co.   0 October  7,  1918 


The  Honor  Roll  281 


CKADDOCK.    THOMAS    I)..    CoriHn-al.    Co.    D.. ..October 

DAVEXI'ORT.    JOSEPH    B.,   Private.   Co.    M October 

DAVENPORT.    ROBERT.    Private,    Co.    B October 

DeARMON.    WAYNE.     I'rivate.    Co.    A October 

DENNIS.    HOMER    H..    I'rivate,    Co.    B October 

DITZLER.    FRANK    H..    I'rivate,    Co.   A October 

DOAKE,    THOMAS    M..    I'rivate,    Co.    B October 

DOGGET,    MOHON,    Corporal,    Co.    B October 

DOMSTAD.    ALBERT.    Private,    Co.    M October 

DOOLEY,    THOMAS    M..    Private.    Co.    B October 

DORNAK,    STEVE.    E.,    Private,    Co.    L October 

DIKE.    WALTER    E..    Private,   Co.    B October 

DULIN.    L.   A..   I'rivate,   Co.    E October 

DUNLAI'.    JOHN   C,    Private,    Co.    I October 

DUNN.   JOSEPH   C.   Private,   Co.    B October 

DURHAM.    BARTLETT    C,    Private.    Co.    B October 

DI'STON.    JAMES    E..    Private,    Co.    B October 

ELLIS.    N.    M..    Private.    Co.    E October 

LNGLISH.   ItOBERT   I.,  Private.   Co.   B October 

I-:\ANS.    CLYDE.    Corporal.    Co.    B October 

EVERETT.    JOE    W..    Private,    Co.    B October 

ELLIOTT.    MARVIN.    Private.    Co.    C October 

FARMER.    CARROLL.    Private,    Co.    A October 

FERGUSON.    W.    C.    Private.    Co.    E October 

FIELDKAMP.    H.    J..    Private.    Co.    E October 

FISHER.    ALBERT    W..    Private,    Co.    B October 

FRAUSTE.     FRANK.    Private.    Co.    E Octolier 

FRAZIER.    JOHN   A..    Private,    Co.    F October 

GARCIA.     FRANCISCO,     Private,     Hq October 

GASTON.    ROBERT    A..    Corporal.    Co.    F October 

GREEN.    H.    P..    Private,    Co.    E October 

GREEN.    TROY    E..    Private.    Co.    B October 

HABY.   OSCAR   J..   Private   1  cl..   Co.   C October 

HALL.    JOHN.    Private.    Co.    F October 

HANCOCK.    VERNER.    Private.    Co.     F October 

HARRIS.    PHIL    P..    Private.    Co.    K October 

HEATH.    LESLIE    L..    Cori>oral.    Co.    K Octolier 

HILL.    JOHN   T..    Private.    Co.    B October 

HILDEBRAND.    B.    W.   C.    Corporal.    Co.    E October 

HORNER.    JOHN    B..    Corporal.    Co.    H October 

HOI'STON.    P.    C.    Corporal.    Co.    B October 

HOWELL.   THEODORE   J.,   Corporal.   Co.  D October 

HEWETH.  I'EARL.  Private.   Co.   I October 

HUMPHREYS.    CALVIN.   Private  1   cl..   Co.   C....October 
HUMPHREYS.     WILLIAM.     Sergeant.    Co.    C....October 


s. 

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282:  The  Story  of  the  36th 

HURT,    F.    J.,    Private,    Co.    E October  8,  1918, 

JOHNSON,    JESSE    S.,    Private,    Co.    I .October  7,  1918 

KESSELEIl.    OTTO,    Private,    Co.    M.-G October  $.  1918 

KILLOUGH,    W.    L.,    Corporal,    Co.    E October  8.  1918 

KING,    VANCE    A.,    Corporal,    Co.    B October  9,  1918 

KITCHENS.    CLARENCE,    Private,    Co.    M October  8,  1918 

KOCH.    JOHN    L.    Private,    Co.    G October  17,  1918 

LANDRUM,    AVILLIE,     Private,     Co.    D October  8,  1918 

LAWRENCE,    JOHN    P.,    Private,    Co.    C October  8.  1918 

LAWSON.    W.    E.,    Private,    Co.    E October  8.  1918 

LAYNE.    WILLIAM    S.,    Private,    Co.    D October  8.  1918 

LEIBER,  OSCAR  J.,  Private  1  cl,.   Co.  C October  8.  1918 

LEONARD.    DENNIS    E..    Private.    Co.    D October  8,  1918 

LEONARD,    TIMOTHY,    Private,    Co.    C October  8.  1918 

LERO.    JOE    F..    Corporal.    Co.    B October  8.  1918 

LESTER.     BEN.     Private.     Co.     B October  8.  1918 

LINE,    LIGE.    Private,    Co.    K October  8,  1918 

LUTZ,    ERIC   T.,    Private   1   cl.,    Co.    C October  8.  1918 

LYNCH.    FRED    D..    Private.    Hq October  8.  1918 

MAEHR,    CARL   F.,    Corporal,    Co.    D October  8.  1918 

MALONE,   LON  F.,  Private  1  cl.,  Co.  C October  8,  1918 

MARTIN,    ROBER    A.,    Private.    Co.    I October  7.  1918 

MAYO,    MARION,    Private,    Co.    C October  8,  1918 

McCLOUD.    EMMET.    Private,    Co.    D October  8.  1918 

McDERMOTT,    CALIP    F.,    Corporal,    Co.    D October  9,  1918 

McFARLANE.    HARRY    A..    Private.    Co.    D October  8.  1918 

McGINNIS.   RUSSELL  R.,   Private  1  cl.,   Co.   C..Octol)er  8.  1918 

Mcknight,   Cornelius   R.,   Private.   Co.   D....October  27.  1918 

MEYER.    HUGO    W..    Private.    Co.    I .October  10,  1918 

MILLER.    LAWRENCE.    Corporal,    Co.    C October  8.  1918 

MITCHELL.    LAWRENCE    I.,    Private.    Hq October  8.  1918 

MORRE.    JOHNNIE,    Private,    Co.    G ....October  8.  1918 

MORGAN.    LYMAN,    Private,    Co.    K October  8.  1918 

McBURNETT.    WESLIE,    Private,    Co.    K October  8.  1918 

NETHERY.    ALBERT    C,    Private,    Co.    F October  9.  1918 

HOFIRE,    ANDY.    Private.    Co.    D .....October  9.  1918 

NORMAN.    JOHN    B.,    Private,    Hq October  8,  1918 

OAKLEY,    STEPHEN    R..    Private.    Co.    D Octolier  8.  1918 

PAGE.    WARREN   B..    Private,    Co.    F : October  9.  1918 

PARMER,    WILLIAM    E.,    Private.    Co.    I Oetol»er  9.  1918 

PELECH,    JOE,    Private,    Co.    C October  8,  1918 

PERKINS,    OVERTON.    Corporal,    Co.    B October  27.  1918 

FERRYMAN.    HOMER    W..    Private,    Co.    C October  8,  1918 

FERRYMAN,     WASHINGTON  L..  Private,  Co.  K..Oetol)er  8.  1918 

PINDER.   T.    E..    Sergeant,    Co.    E October  8,  1918 


The  Honor  Roll  283 

PITTS,   DOUTHITT,  Private  1  cl.,   Co.   C...- October  8,  1018 

POEUNER,    AUGUST,    Private,    Co.    C October  8,  1918 

POLVADE,    ERNEST,    Private   1   cl.,    Co.    C October  8,  1918 

PRINCE,    J.    E.,    Private,    Co.    E _ October  8,  1918 

RAINS,    CURTIS    A.,    Private,    Co.   D October  8,  1918 

ROGERS,    HERMAN,    Corporal,    Co.    E October  8,  1918 

ROUMELITIS,   DIEMICIOS,   Corporal,   Co  C October  8,  1918 

REDDING,    BENJAMIN,    Private,    Co.    I October  9,  1918 

SAVAGE,    REMMIE,    Corporal,    Co.    D _ October  8,  1918 

SCOTT,    GEORGE    R.,    Sergeant,    Co.    A October  8,  1918 

SELF.    GEORGE    W.,    Private,    Co.    H October  9,  1918 

SHERRED,    THOMAS    J.,    Private,    Hq October  8,  1918 

SIMMONS,    CONNIE,    Private,    Co.    I October  9,  1918 

SMITH.    ISAAC    R.,    Corporal,    Co.    L October  8,  1918 

SxMITH,   T.    R.,    Private,    Co.    E October  8,  1918 

SMITH,    THOMAS    E.,    Private,    Co.    L October  22,  1918 

SPEEGLS,    GILES,    Sergeant,    Co.    K October  8,  1918 

STEVENSON.  HARRY  L.,   Private,  Med.   Det October  8,  1918 

STORM,    IRA    D.,    Private,    Co.    F October  9,  1918 

TARIf,  CHARLES   L.,   Private,   Co.   D October  8,  1918 

TERRY,    BRYN.   Private  1  cl..   Co.   G October  12,  1918 

THOMPSON,    MARENUS,    Corporal,    Co.    D October  8,  1918 

TREVINE,    ALEJERANDRO    G.,    Private,    Hq... October  8.  1918 

TEUCCI.    GUISEPPE,    Private,    Co.    D October  8,  1918 

TURNER,    J.    W.,    Mechanic,    Co.    E October  8.  1918 

VADEN,    ROBERT,     Sergeant,    Co.    M .....October  7.  1918 

WALKER,    ROY    D.,    Private,    Co.    M October  8,  1918 

WALKER.    CLYDE   J.,   Corporal,    Co.    C October  8.  1918 

WARD,    SAMSON.    Private.    Co.    K October  8.  1918 

WALTERS.    CHARLES,    Corporal,    Co.    B October  8.  1918 

WARE.    GUS    B..    Corporal,    Co.    C October  8.  1918 

WATSON.    TOM    B.,    Private.    Co.    B October  8,  1918 

WEISS,    JOSEPH    W..    Corporal.    Co.    C October  8.  1918 

WELCH,    JESSE    L.,    Private,    Co.    I October  8,  1918 

WHITE,    WILLIAM    A.,    Private,    Co.    D October  9.  1918 

WILLIAMS.    ALVIN    J..    Private,    Co.    K October  8,  1918 

WILLIS.    PAUL.    Sergeant,    Co.    K October  8.  1918 

WOLLOM,   OLE  S..   Private,   Co.   M-G October  8,  1918 

WOOD,    HORACE    U..    Private.    Co.    M October  8.  1918 

(VOODUL,    CHARLES    E..    Sergeant,    Co.    B October  8,  1918 

^'OODS.    RUFUS    C,    Corporal,    Co.    I October  8,  1918 

(\'RIGHT.    ADOLPH    K.,    Sergeant,    Co.    I October  9,  1918 

YEARY.    JOHN    N..    Corporal,    Hq October  8.  1918 

YECHIS,    MICHAEL,    Private,    Co.    I October  9,  1918 

ZUERCHER,    L.    L.,    Corporal.    Co.    E October  8.  1918 

ZERNICKE.    JOHN,    Private.    Co.    I October  9,  1918 


284  The  Story  of  the  36th 

J '/.id     Jiifantri/. 

ADAMS,  JAMES  E„  I'rivate,  Co.  F October 

ADAMS,    MARVIN    L.,    Sergeant,   Co.    F October 

ADAMSON,    WESLIE    H..    I'rivate,    Co.    H .October 

ALLEN,  PHILLIPS  S.,  Private  1  cl.,  Co.  B October 

ALVEKSON.    GAKIIY    L.,    Sergeant.    Co.    D October 

ALVEY,    FLOYD    G.,    Private    1    cl.,    Co.    L October 

AKNALL,    1{0Y.    .!.,    Private.    Co.    (J October 

RAIRD,    CHARLES    W.,    Private,    Hq (Xtober 

BANNER,     ROBERT     F.,     Private,     Hq (Xtober 

BLAND,    THOMAS    C,    Private,    Co.    H October 

BLANKS,    JAMES    L.,    Private,    Co.    H October 

BOONE,   JESSE    M.    S.,    Private,   Co.    G Olober 

BOUSE,    CHARLES    S.,    Sergeant,    Co.    B October 

BROWN,    ALFRED    N.,    Private,    Co.    K October  : 

BROWN,    ARTIE    E.,    Private.    Co.    F October 

BROWN,    NICHOLAS    E.,    Coriwral,    Co.    E October 

Bl'RCH.    WALDO.    Private.    Co.    B October 

BUTLER,    FREDDIE    A..    Mechanic.    Co.    M October 

BURNETT,    ARLEIGH.    Sergeant.    Co.    B October 

BYERLEY.    EARL    C,    Sergeant,    Co.    G October 

CALVERT,    OLLIE    S..    Sergeant,    Co.    M October 

CAMPBELL.    CHESTER    F.,    Private,   Co.    L October 

CAMPBELL.    HIIfAM    W.,    Private.    Co.    L October 

CARPENTER,    QUINCY    C.    Bugler,    Co.    G October 

CARR.    BOB.    Private,    Co.    F Octol>er 

CHILDRESS.    AMOS    R.,    Corporal.    Co.    K October 

COBB.    BRUCE.    Coriwral.    Co.    K October 

CLARK.   AUBYN   E..    1st    Sergeant.    Co.    H October 

CLOSNER.    JOHN   A.,    Private.    Co.    I October 

COLE.    JACK    C.    Private.    Hq October 

COOPER,    EDMOND.    Private,    Co.    A October 

COOPER,    LAWRENCE    L.,    Corporal,    Co.    B... October 

COVINGTON,    CLAUDE   T..    Private.    Co.    G October 

COX.     FOREST,     Private.     Co.     B October 

CURTIS,    WILL    C.    Private.    Co.     M October 

CURTIS.    WILLIAM    Q..    Private.    Co.    M October 

CITSHER,    SIMEON,   Private   1    cl,.   Co.   E October 

DEAKIN,   JOHN  C„   Private  1   cl,.   Co.   B October 

DALE.    CLEASON    N..    Mechanic.    Co.    B_ Octol>er 

DANIEL,    GEORGE    M.,    Private,    Co,    G October 

DUNNAWAY.    MONTE    E..    Corporal.    Co.    L October 

DUNN,    ULIS    E..    Private    1    cl..    Co.    B October 

EASTON.   ROSCOE,   Private  1   cl.,    Co.    F October 


0, 

1918 

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8, 

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9, 

,  1918 

The  Honor  Roll  285 


101>]>IN(iS.     NOAH     F...    ITivate,    Co.    L October     8.  1!>18 

EDWARDS.    T.KK    U..   Private,    Co.    G October     9.  1918 

FINLEY.    LEE    S..    Cori>oral,    Co.    L October     9.  1918 

FLOYD,    ANDREW    M.,    Private.    Co.    G October     8.  1918 

FOBB.    EDMOND.    Private    1    cl..    Oo.    E October     8.  1918 

FORD,    GORDON    F..    Private,    Co.    I October     8.  1918 

FOSTER,    THOMAS    E,.    Private.    Co.    B October     8,  1918 

FP.AZIEIt.    (JLEXX.    Cori>oral.    Co.    F October     9.  1918 

FRENCH.    SAMI'EL    T..    Private.    Co.    I October     8,  1918 

FRY.    O.SCAP.    L..    Private.    Co.    K Octolier  27.  1918 

FT'IJ.ER.    I'.KN    W..    Private.    Hq October     9.  1918 

GAM^nLl>.     ATJJE.     Corporal,     Co.     C. October  22.  1918 

GIFFORD.    rr.AT'DE    C.    Private.    Co.    D October     8.  1918 

COODREAR.    ILVRVEY.    Private.    Co.    A October     8.  1918 

(;<K)D(;ER.    WILLIE    E.    Private.    Co.    M October     9.  1918 

(iRAIIAM.    NOEL.    Private.    Co.    L. October     8.  1918 

GRAVES.    BENTON.    Private.    Co.     L Octolier     8.  1918 

GRAVES.    THOMAS    .7..    Private,    Co.    L October     8.  1918 

GREEN.    .TOXIN    H..    Serureant.    Co.    E Octolier     8.  1918 

HANNA.    EAVELL.    Private.    Co.    M-G October     8.  1918 

HAR.TO.    WILLIAM    S..    Private.    Co.    M Octolier    9.  1918 

HANCOCK.    JOHN    L..    Private.    Co.    G October     8.  1918 

HEATH.    .TAMES    R..    Private.    Co.    L Octolier     9.  1918 

HENEISE.  CHARLES  W..  Corjioral,  Co.  H.  .October  8,  1918 
HE:MMING.  CHARLES  G..  Private  1  cl.,  Co.  B_October  9.  1918 
HENNINGTON.    .TAMES    M..    Coi'iwral.    Co.    G. ...October     8.  1918 

HKiNIGHT.    EARL    K..    Sergeant.    Co.    E October     8.  1918 

HILL,   CHARLES    P..    Private.    Co.    F October     9.  1918 

HILL.     LON    A..     Corporal,     Co.  D October     8.  1918 

HEIMiE.    ESEE.     Private.    Co.     F October     8.  1918 

HOLLINGSWORTH.    PERCY.    Private.    Co.    F....O.-t..|.,.r     ;>.  VM^ 

HOrSTON.    ROBERT    A.,    Private.    Co.    C October     8.  1918 

HOLBROOK.  CLARENCE  E.,  Private,  Co.  B....October  9.  1918 
HTTTvABEE.   LAZELLE   E..   Private  1  cl..  Co.  G..October     8.  1918 

HT'RST.    .TOHN     E..    Private.    Co.    F October     9.  1918 

JOHNSON.    .TAMES    O..    Private.    Co.    B October     9.  1918 

JONES.    ESTEL    L..    Private.    Co.    G October     S.  1918 

JONES.     OKLAHO.MA.     Private.     Co.    G October     8.  1918 

JONES.    ROBERT    C.    Private.    Co.    A October     8.  1918 

WETTH.    ELMER    G..    Private,    Co.    E October     S.  1918 

KING.    ROY    C    Coqwral.    Co.    M October     9.  191S 

LANE,    JAMES    W..    Private.    Co.    F October     9.  1918 

LANTOSCH.    JOSEPH   P..   Private.    Med.   Det.:...October    8,  1918 

LEONARD.    EARL   C.   Private   1   cl..   Co.    H October     S.  1918 

LeROY.   .JOSEPH   M..   Private   1   cl..   Co.    B Octobe"     9.  1918 


286  The  Story  of  the  36th 

LEITZKE,    JOHN    F..    Corporal,    Co.    B October  9,  1U18 

MEUNEY,    ALVIN,    Corporal,    Co.    G October     8,  11)18 

McADAAIS,    SAMUEL    J.,    Private,    CJo.    L October     8.  1918 

McBRIDE.    STEVEN   A.,   Private   1    cl.,   Co.    D..October  8,  1918 

McGready,    James   C.,   Private,    Co.    F October  8,  1918 

McDANIEL,    JOHN    F.,    Sergeant,    Co.    G ...Octobei-  8,  1918 

McFADDEN,  JAMES  R.,   Corporal.   Co.   L October  8.  1918 

McGOWAN,  LLOYD   W.,   Private  1  cl.,   Co.   G....Oetober  8,  1918 

McNITZKY,  ARTHUR  O.,  Private,  Co.  M October  9,  1918 

MENDENHALL,    RAY    S.,    Private,    Co.    A October  8.  1918 

MYERS,    LEVL    Private,    Co.    L October  8,  1918 

MINER.    THOMAS    L.,    Private.    Co.    K October  9.  1918 

MIX,    CHARLES.    Private,    Co.    E October  9.  1918 

MOORE,    GILBERT.    Corporal.    Co.    F .October  9.  1918 

MOORE,    LESLIE,    Private,    Co.    B October  8.  1918 

MONTGOMERY,    CHARLES    G.    P.,    Private    1  cl. 

Co.     I October  27.  1918 

MORGAN.    DAVID    H.,    Private,    Co.    I October  8,  1918 

MOSS,    ROBERT    E.,    Sergeant.    Co.    E October  9.  1918 

NEIL,    WILLIAM    J.    B.,   Private.    Co.    H October  8.  1918 

NEW.    ELMER.    Sergeant,    Co.    F October  9.  1918 

PAGE.   WILLIAM   P.,    Private   1   cl.,   Co.    H October  8,  1918 

PENDLETON,   JIM   B..   Private   1   cl..  Co.   H October  9.  1918 

PERKINS,    JOHN   M.,   Private.    Co.    I October  27.  1918 

PETTITT.    MACK.    Private,    Co.    H October  8,  1918 

PIDCOCK.    SAMUEL  A„   Private  1  cl.,   Co.   B....October  9.  1918 

POE.   ALTON   C.   Private  1  cl,   Co.   H October  8.  1918 

POLK,    ROLAND    W.,    Corporal,    Co.    H October  8.  1918 

PORTER.    JONEY.    Corporal.    Co.    L October  8.  1918 

POWERS.    ERNEST    A.,    Corix)ral,    Go.    F October  8.  1918 

POWERS.    MARTIN    L.,    Private,    Hq October  8,  1918 

PRICE.  SAM  P.,  Private  1  cl..  Co.  H October  8,  1918 

REID.    CHESTER    F,.    Private.    Co.    B October  8.  1918 

RAWIS.    JESSE    R..    Private.    Co.    F October  9,  1918 

REAGAN,    FANCHER    D.,    Sergeant.    Co.    M October  9.  1918 

REEVES,    BASIL    O..    Corporal.    Co.    G October  9.  1918 

ROARK.    ENIEUS    I..    Private.    Co.    A October  8.  1918 

RODERICK.  AMBERS  B.,  Private  1  cl..  Co.  H..October  8.  1918 

ROGERS.    PLEAS    M.,    Private.    Co.    F October  9,  1918 

ROBINSON,    ALBERT    E.,    Sergeant,    Co.    I October  27,  1918 

ROPER.    ROY.    Corporal.    Co.    E „ October  8,  1918 

ROSS,    THOMAS    F.,    Private,    Co.    H..._ October  8,  1918 

ROYALL.    WILLIAM   M.,    Private,    Co.   H October  8,  1918 

RUSSELL,   JAMES   R.,   Private   1  cl.,   Co.   H October  8,  1918 

SANDERS.    BEN   L.,    Private.    Co.    F October  9,  1918 


The  Honor  Roll  287 

SANDERS,    WILLIAM    T.,    Coriwral,   Ck).    F October  9,  1918 

SANDIGE,    liOY    N.,    Private,    Co.    O. October  9,  1918 

SCOTT,    FRANK,    Private,    Co.    E October  9,  1918 

SCAFF,    QUNTES   A.,   Private   1   cl.,   Cto.   I .October  9,  1918 

SHIRER,    ORLA    E.,    Private,    Co.    L October  8,  1918 

SIRMONS,    WILLIAM    L.,    Private,    Co.    A October  8,  1918 

SMITH,    EDGAR    C.,    Private,    Co.    K October  27,  1918 

SMITH,    FLOYD    W.,    Corporal,    Co.    L October  8,  1918 

SMITH,    THOMAS    E.,    Private,    Co.    L October  22,  1918 

SIMPSON,    FLOYD    E.,    Sergeant,    Co.    I October  9,  1918 

SPIKES,    JAMES    A.,    Private,    Hq October  9,  1918 

SPIVEY,    SULLIVAN    R.,    Private,    Co.    G October  8.  1918 

TEAGUE,    CHARLES    L..    Corporal,    Co.    K October  9,  1918 

THOMPSON,    DELWIN    A.,    Private,    Co.    B October  9,  1918 

TIMS,    EDMOND,    Private,    Co.    D October  8,  1918 

TUNSTALL,    OLLIE    B.,    Private,    Co.    G October  8,  1918 

TURNER,    FLORENCE    W.,    Private,    Co.    B October  9,  1918 

WALDROP,    VERGEN   X.,    Sergeant,    Co.    H October  8,  1918 

WARREN,    ROY    L.,    Corporal,    Co.    H October  8,  1918 

WATROUS,    TED,    Private,    Co.    C October  22,  1918 

WEST,    WILLIAM    G.,    Private,    Co.    D October  9,  1918 

WILLIAMS,    ROBERT    C.,    Corporal,    Co.    I October  9,  1918 

VRANA,   EDMOND   W.,   Private   1  cl.,  Co.   C October  9,  1918 

IJ/Sd     Infantry 

AKABAS,    MAURICE    W.,    Private   1    cl.,    Hq October  18,  1918 

ANDERSON,    MIKE,    Private   1   cl.,    Co.    G     October  10,  1918 

BELL,    CHARLIE,    Private    1    cl.,    Co.    H. October    9,  1918 

BETHEA,   CECIL   G.,    Private   1    cl.,    Co.    H October     9,  1918 

BOULTINHEURSE,     SCHILLIE,     Private     1     cl., 

Co.     B October  21,  1918 

BICKLEY,   JOHNNIE   L.,   Private,   Co.    G October  10,  1918 

COATES,    THOMAS    L.,    Private,    Co.    C October  14,  1918 

CREPPIN,     FELIX,     Private,     Hq October     8,  1918 

CRIM,    ROBERT  L.,   Private  1  cl.,   Med.   Det October    9,  1918 

DWINELL,  NORMAN  E.,  Private  1  cl.,  Co.  G....October  10,  1918 

EHLERS,    HUGE    J.,    Private,    Med.    Det October  10,  1918 

FLEMMING,    BERT  M.,    Private   1   cl.,    Co.   C....October  14,  1918 

GANTT,    GEORGE    E.,    Private,    Med.    Det October    9,  1918 

GOODHUE,  JAMES   W.,   Private  1  cl.,   Co.  L....October    9,  1918 

HICK,    THOMAS   B.,    Private  1   cl.,    Co.   G October  12,  1918 

HINTON,    ALLEN,    Corporal,    Co.    I October  12,  1918 

KILLEBREW,    GEORGE    W.,    Private,    Co.    G....October  10,  1918 
KING,    WILLIAM    G.,   Private,   Co.    K October  10,  1918 


288  The  Story  of  the  36th 

ivLEMENT,    CHAKLES    E.,    I'rivate    1    cl October  lU.  1918 

LAKEY,    GENERAL    M.,    Sergeant,    Go    F October  27,  1918 

LEWIS.    SAM,    Private   1   cl.    Co.    B October  21,  1918 

OLLRE.    JOE,    Private,    Co.    C October  13,  1918 

SCHKOEDER,  HERBERT  H..  Private,  Co.  K....October  12.  1918 
SIMMONS,     WILLIAM     L.,     I'rivate     1     cl.,     Mecl. 

Det October  9.  1918 

SEWELL.    CHARLIE    L.,    Private.    Med.    Det October  9.  1918 

STALLINGS,    CHARLES    B.,    Private    1    cl.,    Metl. 

Det October  9.  1918 

TARVER,   ROBERT   S.,  Corporal.   Co.   H .October  9.  1918 

TAYLOR,  JACOB  N.,  Private  1  cl..   G October  10.  1918 

WAGNER.     FELIX,     Private.     Co.     I October  12.  1918 

IJ^Jith    Infantry 

ALLEN,    ELIJAH    F..    Private,    Co,    A October  1.;.  1918 

ALLEN,    ORBA    N.,    I'rivate,    Co.    B October  12.  1918 

AYCOCK,    CLYDE    A.,    Private.    Co.    D October  13.  1918 

BASS.    JAMES    F..    Private,   Co.    B October  10,  1918 

CHRISTIAN,    JOHN    W.,    Private,    Co.    M October  13.  1918 

CURRY,    JOHN    E..    Corporal,    Co.    D October  13.  1918 

DAVIS,    ROBERT    H.,    Corporal,    Co.    B October  13,  1918 

ECKERT.    MAX    H.,    Privjite,    Co.    B October  13.  1918 

EVANS.    AUBREY    R.,    Private.    Co.    K October  13.  1918 

FAUST,    JOHN    W.,    Private.    Co.    C October  12,  1918 

FOSTER,    CLEBURN    H.,    Private,    Co.    M October  13,  1918 

GRIMES,    HExNRY    H.,   Private  1   cl.,   Co.    C October  13.  1918 

GRIMES.  JAMES   S.,   Private  1   cl.,   Co.    B October  15.  1918 

HEYSER,  DUNCAN  B.  D.,  Private  1  cl.,  Co.  M..October  13,  1918 

HOLLEY,    WALTER    M.,    Private.    Co.    A October  10,  1918 

JACKSON.    JOHN   D.,    Private,    Co.    G October  12,  1918 

KEETER,   ADEN    L.,   Private,   Co.   L October  13.  1918 

LOWERY,    ANDREW    J..    Private.    Co.    M October  13,  1918 

MANUEL.     FRANK,     Private.    Co.     M October  13.  1918 

MILLER.    GRADY    M.,    Sergeant.    Co.    K October  13,  1918 

^MORGAN,    LESTER,    Private.    Co.    B October  13.  1918 

ORCHARD,    JERRE    N.,    Private.    Co.    G October  11.  1918 

PHILLIPS,    IRVING    B.,    Private,    Co.    B October  14.  1918 

PRICE.    GUY    E..    Private,    Co.    D October  13,  1918 

SCHLAUDT.  ALFRED   J.,   Private  1  cl.,   Co.  B. .October  13,  1918 

SHAW.    SETH    S..   Private,   Co.    M-G October  11.  1918 

SHOCK,    EVERETT    G.,    Sergeant,    Co.    B ...October  13,  1918 

SKAGGS,    WALTER    C,    Private.    Co.    H October  13.  1918 

SMITH.    GRAHAM   P..   Private   1   cl..   Co.   D Octolier  13.  1918 


The  Honor  Roll  289 

SFAXGLER.    JAMES    H..    Private.    Co.    D October  13.  iniS 

STARBUCK.    GEORGE    H..    Coriwral.    Co.    B October  14.  1018 

.-^TEEI.E.    LIXDVILLE  H.,    Private,    Co.    B October  13.  1J)18 

TILL.    JOHN.    Private.    Co.    B October  13.  lOlS 

T'.XOERWOOD.       LILLIARD       N.,       Private.       Co. 

M-G     _ Octol)er  11.  1!»18 

VAXSTORY.    SAM.    Private,    Co.    L October  13,  1918 

VEIGT.  ORBIX   F.,   Private,   Co.   M October  13,  1918 

WEBB.    FRAXK    D..    Corporal.    Co.    B October  11.  1918 

WILLIAMS.    PAT    C.    Serjreant.    Co.    M Octol)er  13.  1918 

133d   Machine   Gun   Battalion 
SAXDERS,   MARSHALL   I..    Private.    Co.    A Octol)er  13.  1918 

111th   Field  Signal   Battalion 
ROGERS.   CHARLES    J.,   Coriwral.   Co.    C October     8,  1918 

132d  Machine  Gun   Battalion 

ARAXT.    ALLEX    B..    Private    1    cl.,    Co.    C October  8,  1918 

ARMSTROX(;.  HOMER  R..  Private  1  cl,  Co.  A..October  8.  1918 

ATLAS.    ALBERT,    Private    1    cl.,    Co.    A October  S.  1918 

CARPEXTER.    WILLIAM    H.,    Private    1    cl..    Co. 

A     _October  8.  1918 

COX.   MARVIX    F..   Private   1   cl..   Co.    C Octol^er  9.  1918 

EDWARDS.    DEAVER    W.,   Conwral,    Co.    A October  9.   1918 

HOUSTOX,  LEOXARD  C,  Private  1  cl..  Co.  B....October  8,  1918 

JOHXS.    GEORGE    W..    Sergeant,    Co.    C October  9.  1918 

OWEX.    TOM    H..    Private    1    cl.,    Co.    C October  2(>.  1918 

RISIXGER.    OLLIE    O..    Private.    Co.    C October  9.  1918 

STIXCHCOMB.    ERXEST    C.    Private.    Co.    B....October  8.  1918 

UTTERBACK.  BIRDXER  E..  Coriwral.  Co.  B.... October  8.  1918 

VAX  OSDOL.   JAMES    E.,   Private  1   cl..   Co.   B..October  8.  1918 

WADE,    HERBERT   E..   Private   1   cl.,   Co.   C October  8.  1918 

WALLS.     EDWARD.     Private.    Co.    A October  8.  1918 

/////(.     Engineers 
CORXELISOX.  PORTER  H..  Private,  Co.  F....Xoveuiber     1.  191& 


290  The  Story  of  the  36th 


DIED   OF    WOUNDS 


llllst     Infantry 

ALLEN,    CLARENCE    B.,    Private,    Hq October  8,  WIS 

BLACKWELL,  FLORENCE  C,  Private,  Co.  H....October  9,  1918 

CLAYTON,    JAMES    A.,    Private,    Hq „.October  11,  1018 

DEUTSCH,    JOHN    J.,    Sergeant,    Co.    M-G October  8,  1918 

GAHAGAN,    S.   A.,    Private,    Co.    E October  12,  1918 

GREENWOOD,    C.    O.,    Private,    Co.    E October  10.  1918 

HARRIS,    ALBERT    L.,    Private,    Hq October  11.  1918 

JAYNO,    W.    W.,    Private,    Co.    E October  12,  1918 

LASCH,    DAVID    W.,    Private,    Co.    I October  9,  1918 

LIVESAY,    JAMES    R.,    Sergeant,    Co.    A .October  17,  1918 

PARKER,    SAM    L.,    Private,    Co.    K October  9,  1918 

SMITH,    GUiSTON    K.,    Corporal,    Co.    B October  9.  1918 

WESTERMAN,  WALDO  A.,  Private,  Co.   M-G....October  12.  1918 

lJi2d    Infantry. 

AUTRY,   FITZHUGH  L.,   1st   Sergeant,   Co.   F....October     8,  1918 

BOSWELL,    ROY    A.,    Private,    Co.    G October  14,  1918 

COCHELL.    CLELL    C,    Sergeant,    Co.    G October     8,  1918 

DeCORDOVAN,  ALLEN  L.,  Corporal,  Co.  L October  10,  1918 

DINGLER,   JUDDIE   V.,  Private  1   cl.,   Co.  H....October     8,  1918 
DOOLEY,   CLIFFORD   L..   Private   1   cl.,   Co.   G..October     8.  1918 

GOOCH,    GLENN,    Corporal,    Co.    H October     8,  1918 

GRIESON,    OLIVER    H.,    Private,    Go.    F October    9,  1918 

JOHNSON,  GEORGE  V.,  Private,  Hq November     6.  1918 

NEWTON,    JOHN    V.,    Private,    Hq October  31,  1918 

PEARCE.    LOUIS    G.,    Corporal,    Co.    C October  13,  1918 

RICHARDSON.    BEN    H,    Private.    Co.    F October     8.  1918 

RUSSELL,    JOHN   C,    Private.    Co.    F October  20.  1918 

SHOEMAKER,   LONNE   O.,  Corporal,   Co.  L....November  11.  1918 
TUNE,    SAM   W.,   Sergeant,   Co.    M-G October     9,  1918 

132d    Machine    Gun    Battalion 

BUZAN,    OLIVER    W.,    Private,    Co.    D October     9.  1918 

CASEY,   LOUIS   W..   Private  1   cl.,   Co.   D October  28.  1918 

CLENDENNING,     BENEJAH     H.,     Private     1     cl., 

Co.     D November     6,  1918 


The  Honor  Roll  291 

KLEIN,    CHARLES,    Private,    Co.     D October  28,  1918 

KRAMPOTA,    ANTON,    Private,    Co.    D .October     9,  1918 

OWEN,  TOM   H.,   Private  1   cL,   Co.   D October  26,  1918 

STALLINGS,    RAY,    Private,    Co.    C October  10,  1918 

WADE,  HERBERT  E..  Private  1  cl.,  Co.  C October     8.  1918 

144th    Infantry 

BARLOW,  JOE  W.,   Private  1  cl.,   Co.   K .October  15,  1918 

FEAGINS,   WALTER  C.   Corporal,   Co.    L October  21,  1918 

HODEN,    THOMAS,    Private,    Co.    C -.October  12,  1918 

KIRKENDALL,    JOHN,    Corporal,    Co.    M-G October  25,  1918 

PARKS,    WILLIAM,    Private,    Co.    A October  26,  1918 

PERTZ,    MAURICIE,    Private,    Co.    M October  11,  1918 

REDRIQUES,   JUAN    M.,    Private,    Co.   B October  14,  1918 

HINES,    THOMAS,    Private    1    cl.,    Co.    M October  15,  1918 


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